Bumps, bruises and bloody noses

I've never been a mom who jumps up to coddle Kallen every time he falls down or bumps his head. I tend to asses the situation and make the appropriate response. If there is no major damage, or hard core tears, I help coax him up, and send him on his way. Now that sounds kind of cold, so I have to say that if there is obvious pain or injury, I'm right there to comfort the little guy and make sure everything is in working order. Then when he's ready, I let him down. I just feel that if I gasp or jump up to help him every time something little happens, I'll never know the difference between a serious injury and a little bump or bruise. He'll cry like he's dying no matter what happens.

Well, just this afternoon our little Evil Knievel decided to try his luck out walking face forward down my parents front steps. This mind you, is a feat he has yet to accomplish (we're still at the crawling backwards stage). As you can imagine, this little stunt of his, didn't go as well as he would have liked. Grandma and I both made diving attempts to try and stop the inevitable, but to no avail...He fell flat on his face. At first I thought he only hit his forehead, then the blood started to flow. Yep...he got his first bloody nose. Okay, so this was definitely one of those times I was right there to hold and comfort my little daredevil. The nose stopped bleeding, but the goose egg between the eyes will be a friendly reminder for days to come of the skills he has yet to acquire!

When seconds turn to minutes

I just need to take a minute to say how wonderful Kevin is! He's a great friend, a loving husband and most importantly THE BEST daddy!!! My heart breaks each and every day for the guy however, because he doesn't get to spend nearly as much time being the best daddy as he would like to. He's up and out of the house before Kallen wakes up in the morning, and generally home for only a few hours before he goes to bed at night. Well, in those few hours that Kallen and Kevin have "daddy, son time" I get to see so much love and joy in both of their faces!


Sometimes in the evening Kallen seems to think he needs only me, especially when I'm cooking dinner. This never seems to phase Kevin and instead, he does all he can to take Kallen out of the situation, and keep him entertained! Thanks hun! Anyways, last night nothing was working for Kallen. He wanted to be with me, and me only...until, Kevin pulled out the big guns...the marble works! Kallen has played with the marble works towers several times, but we've never used the marbles with it, and quite frankly I wasn't sure how interested he would be in it. I was expecting Kallen to give a minute or two of attention, but never anticipated the 45 minutes of gut wrenching laughs and high fives!

New uses for everyday things!!!

These might look like your average doggie dishes...but not in our house! I tend to let Kallen roam around the house, and explore things as he wishes. It's because of this, that we tend to find some of the oddest things in the oddest places. Sometimes (as previously mentioned) we find clothes in the diaper pail, dog toys in the toy basket, leashes around the neck (as necklaces of course), Toilet paper wads in the bathtub, etc. etc. etc.


Well most recently, I have been finding these special little doggie dishes all over the house. I went to give Kubota (the dog) breakfast the other day, and found the dish in the dryer. I heard a banging noise coming from the kitchen, and found Kallen drumming away on the upside down dish. Then, this afternoon I found him examining his "new look" in the mirror. Doggie dishes second as a hat...who knew? There's never a dull moment in our house, and I love every minute of it!

Does it ever stop growing?

So people have been asking, and as embarrassing as these are, I thought I'd share anyways!

Today is the official 4 month mark of this little one growing inside me. I've started to feel some slight little flutters of movement, which by the way I'll never get tired of. I'm feeling really well, and starting to get some of my energy back, although I'm not sure it will ever be the same as it was without Kallen around. Chasing him around all day definitely keeps me on my toes, but by the end of the day I crash on the couch, and can barely get up to go to bed. I know, I know...and it will only get worse with two little ones. I can't wait!!!

4 weeks

8 weeks

12 weeks

16 weeks

There you go!!! Enjoy!!! I'm getting much bigger much faster this time. Maybe we'll have a 20 lb baby or something...huh!

All in a days work!

After days and days of way too cold weather, and being cooped up inside...we finally had a break! We woke up to clear blue skies and sunshine this morning! Yes...FINALLY!!! We threw on our hats and mittens, and made our way outside! Kallen couldn't get enough of the outdoors, and I know where we'll be spending most of our warm summer days!

Here is a quick rundown of our day:

We pushed, pulled, and rode our little truck (and yes the house across the street is mint chocolate chip green...isn't that just grand!)

We played with (or rather sat in) our Tonka trucks

We walked to the park and slid down the slides

We walked all around the block

And when our time outside was over...we came in to do a few quick loads of laundry and finish the dishes

And after all that...we crashed for a quick 2 hour nap! Boy it's hard work bein' 1!

Soakin' it all up

Before we had Kallen, I had read a lot about babies. The latest and greatest toys, mommy must-haves, consumer reports on the big things like car seats and strollers...and I even read a thing or two about the latest research and findings in baby care. Most everything I read, I took with a grain of salt, and either retained what I felt would be most important, or simply regarded it as humorous and informational.

One thing I read however, that I was really intrigued by, was communicating through sign language. I bought a few books, and talked to some people who had successfully signed with their babies, and I was hooked. It was definitely something we were going to do with Kallen!!!

Most of the books said to start showing the signs to your baby around 6 months (basically when you started solid foods), but not to expect any signs back until around 8 or 9 months. Of course there are always exceptions, and some research findings were different, but I went with the majority. We started with things like "please, more, milk, & eat". He picked up "milk" pretty fast, and every time I signed it, he got all excited...same with eat.

Then the big milestone!!! Around 9 1/2 months, Kallen and I were rolling a ball back and forth to each other. After doing it a few times, I held onto the ball and said "please"...he immediately made the sign! I was so excited. I jumped up and down trying to get him to do it again, and that's where it all began. Not long after, Kallen started signing "please" for EVERYTHING. It was cute in the beginning, but then we didn't know what he wanted, and it started to get frustrating for both him and us. We're working through it now, and at least he points to things so we've got a better idea of what it is he really wants!

Anyways, onto the real reason for this blog:

I basically stopped teaching Kallen signs when it seemed like he wasn't picking them up anymore. He would do "please", "all done", and a spastic all over version of "more", but that was it. I continued to show him the right way to do "more", although he never quite seemed to get it. Now that he's repeating a lot of the things we say, the signs didn't seem as important. WRONG...Although he's repeating what we're saying, it's not easily understandable, so we're back at square one...not being able to understand each other.

Just yesterday he reached another milestone: We were walking through Costco eating a chocolate chip cookie, and when it was gone, I asked Kallen if he wanted more. What did he do? Signed "more" the correct way. It was SOOOOOO cute!!!

Now he's signing "more", "please", and "all done", and I've realized that it's never too late! Babies are such sponges, and pick up everything that is going on around them, even if it doesn't seem like it. Well, I've been convicted. I got my signing books back out, and we've been walking around all day pointing to things and making the signs! It's actually been really fun, and I can't wait to see how much more Kallen does. I'm looking forward to really communicating with him, and realizing how absorbent he really is!

Hand clappin', throw your head back, laugh till it hurts, excitement

On any given Sunday, there are millions of men, women and children watching the ever popular game we call football. There are bets being made, dreams being achieved, and all around excitement or dismay depending on the outcome of "your teams" game. Well today was no different. Would it be the Saints or the Bears? The Colts or the Patriots? Those were the debates all over the country.

Kevin and I went to our friends Mandi and Mark's house to watch the big games. After the Saints disheartening loss to the Bears, Kevin and Mark made a quick trip down to the local supermarket, to purchase a Sports Action ticket. Sports Action, for those who don't know, is a Lottery game where you pick certain statistics about the games, and bet on them. We don't generally make it a practice to bet on the games, but being this was such a special game...Kevin thought he would go for it.

We went through the game with the fate of their tickets weighing on the "yoyo"ing score and miscellaneous statistics. Half time came around, and they were still looking good on their bets. Only 2 more quarters until they could turn their little pieces of paper into cold hard cash!!! The previous few times that Kevin has put his money into this silly little game, he's lost...so, needless to say, he didn't have too high of hopes this time either. Well.......as the game neared an end, things were looking up on both Kevin and Mark's tickets. Kevin needed one more field goal to be kicked, and the Colts to win by 3 1/2. Mark also needed the Colts to win by 3 1/2 and to not have any more sacks.

I've never seen Kevin so "into" a game. He was on the edge of his seat, jumping up and down when things went his way, and throwing his head between his legs when things didn't. There was a particular play in the game where the Colts Reggie Wayne had the ball, and fumbled it straight up in the air. Kevin jumped up off the couch so fast, and tried to grab the ball himself. It was so funny. He didn't even realize he was doing it! No worries...Wayne got it back!

Anyways...the Colts ended up winning the game, for those of you who didn't hear, and Kevin won his bets! He was throwin' his head back, clappin' his hand, and giggling like a kid in a candy store. Who knew football could be so fun...or it's fans???

Buzzzzzzz

Yes...we did it. Every little boy has to have one. We buzzed his head!!! Kallen needed a haircut, so we decided to cut them all! It's pretty cute if you ask me, but I guess I'm biased.

Our little man is definitely not so little anymore. That's for sure!

Here are a few shots of the grand event for your pleasure!!! First...the reason for the haircut in the first place.

Now the hair cut!!!

There's always an exception

We don't watch a lot of TV in our house, especially when Kallen is awake. It's not that we're against it or anything, just against the mood it puts Kallen in. I find that if we have the TV on, our focus isn't solely on Kallen and it definitely reflects in his attitude. He gets into things he knows he's not supposed to, cries and whimpers about nothing, and sometimes gets physical by hitting or scratching at us. I never really knew what was going on until I realized that every time we were watching a program, or just had the "tube" on...he started to act this way. I used to turn the TV on as soon as I got up in the morning, if for nothing else...the background noise. Well, I decided to try an experiment. I set up the TV to tape any shows I would normally watch, and didn't actually turn it on all day. What do you know...a relaxed and calm day. Kids are supposed to like TV, right??? Wrong. I guess not all kiddos do! I even tried a few cartoons thinking maybe he'd like that. Nope. He will watch something for maybe 60 seconds, then he's off and running again! I guess that's good. Better that he didn't like the TV then be hooked on it and always wanting to watch it right?

Well...there's always an exception! We got a Baby Einstein video from someone as a present, and one day when Dawson was over I thought I'd try it out. I needed to put D to bed, but Kallen was being really needy, and didn't want me to hold Dawson without holding him also. Have you ever tried to rock a 5 month old to sleep, while holding a squirming/talking 1 year old...yeah...not to much fun. So anyways, I set the video up, just to see what would happen...Kallen was hooked. He watched that whole silly video and loved it! D did too as you can tell.

I was able to rock Dawson to sleep and lay him down. Shut off the video and go back to playing with Kallen. It was great!

Then just today, that same old needy Kiddo came out right at dinner making time. When I'm making something that doesn't involve the knives or heat, I normally let Kallen help...but chopping veggies, and making soup on the stove while baking muffins in the oven...I didn't think was the best thing to have Kallen involved in. Fancy that. So, in went the trusty Baby Einstein, I got dinner all chopped and cooking, and everything was "easy peasy"! I never wanted to use the TV or movies as a baby sitter, but sometimes you just need a minute or two to get things done!

Pants, shirts and REALLY good sales!

What more can you say about Old Navy? I love that store...especially when they're having sales that you just can't pass up. Let me tell you about the nice little shopping trip I had there on Friday! So as anyone knows whose ever been inside an Old Navy store...they always have racks of clearance items. Now sometimes these items are a few dollars off the original price, and sometimes they're half off. Well this last weekend, that wonderful store was having their additional 50% off clearance sale. Let me just explain what that means! The items that were already marked down at least 50% were an additional 50% off. What...whose kidding? Here's an example. Kevin has this old 1980's black leather jacket that he wears with absolutely everything nice he owns. When we get dressed up and go out to dinner...out comes the jacket...Going for a date night...out comes the jacket. Anytime he's in anything other than carharts and a sweatshirt (which isn't very often mind you), that blasted puffy, faded, falling off because it's too big, 1980's, wanna be cool, leather jacket makes it's way out of the closet. Well...I thought it was about time to retire that ol' thing, so lucky me, Old Navy had the perfect replacement! They had this great black dress jacket at a price I couldn't resist. Regular price $58.00 (good price, but not willing to pay that), on sale for $19.99 (great price, but still not to sure), additional 50% off clearance price $10.00 (Awesome price, and she's sold!!!) Okay, in all fairness to Kevin and his favorite leather jacket...I should let it have a cameo appearance! Here she is...his pride & Joy!

And the new one...

Much cuter wouldn't you say. Yeah, so maybe not on a hanger, but trust me when I say the new one is much more stylish and a great replacement to the old one!!!

Aside from the great deal on the jacket, I got shirts, pants, and even a sweatshirt or two for Kallen for prices you wouldn't imagine. I totaled up the original prices and came up with $244.50 ahhhhh...but wait. My total bill came to $50 and some change...plus I had a $16.00 off coupon thing which means I only spent $34.ish on $244.50 worth of clothing. That's a ridiculously good sale if you ask me. Yeah, and you're right...I definitely wouldn't have bought all that stuff at the regular price, but still isn't it fun to see the savings! Who buys anything at full price anyways??? Good ol' Old Navy!

Arn't eggs for eating?

So when I think of eggs, I think of something you eat. Deviled eggs, a ham and cheese omelet, egg salad sandwich, scrambled eggs with hash browns...you get the picture. Anyways...I went outside this afternoon and found some of those oh so consumable eggs splattered all along my nice white car. Um, don't people realize that cars can't eat eggs. What would my car want with a bunch of eggs? Oh...that's right, someone just threw eggs at my car as a fun thing to do, since there's obviously nothing better to do. Well wasn't that fun for them.

Same ol' genes

Growing up I told myself, when I became a mom, I would make it a goal to not freak out about the same things my mom used to, and sometimes still does. Like choking for example. My mother could "sense" a choking person 3 miles away, and she was always right there to make sure they were okay. We all used to laugh at her and tell her to relax, it's no big deal. I was going to be different. I was going to be mellow and calm in those situations!!!

Of course I felt that way until I had a choking child of my own. Just the other day Kallen was eating a carrot, and began to choke. I was across the room, and heard the whole event unfold. To my dismay, I was the only person (other than my mom of course, bless her heart) who seemed to think it was a big deal. I began acting like an animal, climbing over anything and everyone to get to my "almost dying" son. He was obviously choking and gagging, while everyone stood there and watched, telling me "he'll cough it out." Oh, is that why he's all red, his eyes are watering, and no sound is coming out of his mouth? And that's when it hit me ........................ I've become my mother.

How long is a year, really?

365 days to be exact...I know. People keep telling me that a year isn't that long, and it will pass before I know it. Yeah...okay, so the last year has flown by, but so much has changed in that year too. It isn't just a passing of time, it's a changing of time as well. Here's the deal...My sister, brother in law, and little nephew left today for a year in Morocco. A year...did you catch that. I wont see my sister until this time next year. It's not like I wont ever be able to talk to her, or email her, or see her with the wonderful technology of the web cam...but I can't just pick up the phone and call her any time I want. I won't get to see Josiah as he reaches some of the biggest milestones of his life. So the question is...Are pictures really the same? I guess they'll have to be!

Here are the cousin's 4 days before Josiah's departure. Can't wait to take this same picture a year from now...Then we'll really see how long a year has been!

Refreshing...not daunting!

When we first moved into our new house, I went a little crazy with the cleaning routine. I had scheduled days that I did certain things, and even wrote them all down on note cards. Purple cards were the things I did daily, Yellow were weekly, blue bi-monthly, pink were monthly, and the plain old white cards were chores I had scheduled to do seasonally. Everything was going great. Bathrooms got cleaned on Wednesdays, Laundry on Tuesdays, mop the floors on Friday and so on and so forth. By cleaning one or two things each day, the house always stayed relatively clean, and I didn't feel like I had been working for hours to get it that way. Well everything is hunky dory until you bring another little kiddo into the mix, or until plans change on the scheduled bathroom cleaning day, and you can't get around to them until the next day which runs into kitchen appliance day...and yadda yadda yadda. I've watched Dawson a few different days now, and although it hasn't been a challenge to be with him and Kallen...cleaning everything has been. So...this week I decided that last night (Sunday that is) I was going to do all the cleaning at once. I thought I would hate it because I would feel like I had been cleaning for hours...but I didn't. I'm so glad I did that. I woke up this morning, the house was bright and sparkly, and it was an all around refreshing way to start the week. I was chipper when Dawson got here this morning, and I'm still chipper at 3:30 as I'm typing this. Who knew those note cards would get thrown away just a few months after I'd made them. Okay...so everyone but me...but still. I guess Sunday evening cleanings is the new thing for me!

Diapers...or whatever!

Okay, so maybe he's not such a little helper!!! We've taught Kallen to put his diapers in the diaper pail after I've wrapped them all up, so he can be a part of it all, and learn to help out a little bit. So great...good for us...our little man helps out. Well, is it still helping out when you begin to find clothes and miscellaneous other things in the diaper pail? You see...the wonderfully fool proof diaper pale that we have, the "Diaper Champ", is apparently really fun for a 14 month old to operate. Here's what it looks like, in case you're not familiar with what I'm talking about:

You see...on the top there is a hole, you put the diaper in, pull the lever over, there's a heavy ball type thing that pushes the diaper down into the pail, and then the hole is on the other side. So basically you can sit and move the lever back and forth and this little ball thing goes back and forth. Rather amusing I guess!

So amusing that I've found balls, dominos, a pair of socks or two, and just this morning he was trying to stuff one of his shirts down the hole. I had tried putting a diaper in there a little while before, and it was kind of hard...huh that got my mind going. If he's trying to put a shirt in there now...I bet he's already done it once or twice. I opened up the pale, and sure enough there was a shirt, a plastic bag and a pair of socks. Huh...what else has gone in that diaper pail unnoticed, and then taken out to the trash? Maybe that's where the remote went???

I just wish I could remember...

So I've discovered that I really like being pregnant. Well, I knew that the last time as well, but this time just confirms it. I've had relatively no morning sickness, no weird cravings, and for the most part no uncomfortable pains or swelling. I know I'm still in the beginning (the last week of the 1st trimester to be exact)...But if this pregnancy goes anything like it did with Kallen, this will last throughout!!! One can hope right??? Anyways...The most enjoyable part about being pregnant (right now at least), is bed time. I am sleeping so well, I don't ever want to get out of bed. I've always been a deep sleeper, but nothing like it is now. I have very vivid, and detailed dreams almost every night, I just wish I could remember them in the morning. All I know when I wake up, is that I dreamed about something, and I've only got bits and pieces of it to remind me. I read something once that said you should wake up in the middle of the night after you've had a dream, and write it down...since that's when it's the most fresh in your mind. Okay, great idea, now how do I accomplish that. Where do they sell the alarm clock that wakes you up when your dream is over. Anyone? Anyone? Huh...when someone finds that clock, will you let me know!

Our little helper

One thing that I've tried to do with Kallen is treat him like a little boy, not a baby. I know he can understand us, and is more than capable of following directions. I've started asking him to help me when I'm doing things around the house. Not only do I get to spend time with him while getting things done, but he's also gaining valuable skills. When I'm doing laundry, he helps me put the clothes in the washer, and then into the dryer. When I'm folding...he folds too. Okay, so it's more like a wad than a fold, but he's helping none the less. If I'm dusting, or wiping down the cabinets and furniture, he wants his own rag to dust as well. When vacuuming...he's right there with one hand on the vacuum, telling me where to go. When cooking or washing dishes, Kallen is right there standing on a chair seeing what I'm doing, and every once in a while he even gets to stir.



Okay, so I think you get the picture. He's our little helper. Well, On Monday night, Kevin and I were out in the living room picking up after the long weekend. Kallen was in and out of the room, trying to help us on one hand, and making more of a mess on the other hand (what's new)? We noticed he hadn't been in the room for a while, so Kevin went to find him. There he was taking his already folded clothes out of his dresser, and one by one putting them in the washer (we have a front loading washer and dryer if you're wondering how he could manage this feet without standing on stilts or climbing a ladder). Anyways, after he'd get a few in, he'd shut the door, wait a second or so, open the door, and take the clothes one at a time, back to his dresser. Such a good little student of mine! Doing his own laundry, at 14 months...who knew???

We need more arms

So here I am, getting my first reality check about the new baby! My friend Brandy needed a favor today, and asked me to watch her 4 month old son Dawson.




Isn't he the cutest!!! Anyways...of course I said yes, not exactly sure what the day would have in store for me. I was most pleasantly surprised, but did get a little taste of what it will be like when the new baby arrives!!! For 14 months now, Kallen has been the only one. All my attention is focused on him, and my arms are always available for that precious hug he needs every now and then...or just to hold him. He hasn't had to face the problem of me holding another baby in my arms, trying to get lunch ready, and having him tug on my legs to get up. It would sure be nice to have four arms. One to hold each child, and the other two to get things done. I might send a memo up to God to share my suggestions with him. Four or more arms is the way to go, especially for moms and dads! Anyways...today Kallen was faced with that, and it was pretty interesting. Kallen reverted to being a little baby, which was much to be expected. When Dawson was in the swing, Kallen would walk over, and try to pull him out, so he could get in the swing himself. If Dawson was laying on a blanket playing with a rattle or something, Kallen wanted to lay on the blanket and play (with the exact same toy D had of course!) It was pretty comical actually.

I will say that having two little ones around will definitely help keep me skinny. I've done more acrobatic moves today than I've done since I was a little tyke myself. Holding D in my arms, and pushing Kallen around on his little truck with one foot, while hopping on the other foot must have been a hilarious sight for the neighbors!!!

All in all, we had a good day, and things went off without a hitch. Not too many jealous tears were shed from either child, and D's face is still in tack. (Kallen tends to try and rip other babies faces off). We all took naps at the same time, and took turns in mommy and auntie Kati's arms!

The only thing that got neglected was the house work. Today was laundry day, so I guess I'll start that when Kallen goes to bed, and I might take a real quick grocery trip in between loads. If that's all that didn't get done, I guess I did pretty good for my first day with two little munchkins. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it with more and more practice.

So...can I be ready for two little ones after only one day of practice. Huh...maybe Brandy will let me borrow Dawson a few more days before baby number two comes!!!