I love my kids!

I supposed all parents feel the same - your own kids are just amazing. There are so many little things I want to make sure I remember as the time passes, and I tell myself I need to write them down (or at least record them on my blog!) but the time gets away from me and so do the stories...



Yesterday morning I put Kara down on a blanket in the living room floor with the thought that I could see her through the opening between the kitchen and the living room as I unloaded the dishwasher. I kept an eye on Seth too, to make sure he didn't get to close or do anything to bother her. Since the TV was on, he was partially engrossed in whatever was on, and he came into the dining room, got his bowl of fruit loops and his cup of milk and took it into the living room to sit beside Kara on the floor. I thought "oh, how sweet!" as he was glued to the TV eating absentmindedly with his little sister beside him.

And it only takes a minute...

I bent down to get something out of the bottom drawer of the dishwasher and when I stood back up, he was ever-so-generously trying to "share" (read: FEED) his fruit loops with his little sister! Luckily, she spit them out and didn't choke, and I have to admit it was kind of funny. But how do you discipline THAT sort of thing? You spend half of your waking hours telling your toddler to SHARE!!! and then when they actually DO, it's sharing something that you DON'T want them to share!

How do you like that?!?

Seth wants one of "Those!"

Kids just crack me up... Seth has obviously noticed the changes we've been making in the house - for crying out loud, we even moved his room! But does he really understand what's goiing on? We've talked about his baby sister Kara and every night when Brian puts him to bed they say their prayers and pray for her too. So he's familiar with the name, and he definitely notices that he can't climb all over mommy like normal.

So, as we enjoy our last night as a family of 3 and get ready for our induction scheduled tomorrow, we couldn't help but get a serious kick out of Seth's response at dinner tonight...

Tonight at dinner Seth saw a family that had a baby with them. He seemed pretty excited, so Brian asked, "Do you want us to get one of those?" and Seth said "Those!" Then Brian said, "Okay, we'll get you one of those tomorrow, okay? How about that?" and Seth then replied with equal enthusiasm, "That!"

Kind of makes you wonder if he really has any idea that we ARE in fact going to get a baby, and that it won't be something that we can return! I guess he'll have a big surprise for him coming tomorrow!

Kara's 36 week checkup

We went today for our 36 week checkup and everything looks good. Kara is measuring pretty much on schedule and it appears that she even has hair! They're estimating that she's weighing about 7 lbs 2 oz as of today, with 4 weeks to go if she goes to 40 weeks! Let's see... do the math, if babies typically gain 1/2 lb a week, that's about 9 lbs 2 oz - bigger than Seth! But he came 3 weeks early and was 8 lbs 9 oz. So I guess we'll have to see!

Anyway, here are a few pictures they gave us of her - can you see her face in the first one?

The blessings of toddlers

This "parenting thing" is so exciting! It's incredibly frustrating, but very exciting. Seth's at the stage where every day he's learning something new. They say that kids can learn a lot of words in a day, even if they don't use them. We're finding this out to be true - seems like every day he'll say something that he hadn't been saying before. (Which makes us realize he's listening VERY closely... so to all those family members and friends out there who use more - um - colorful language, keep it to yourself around our kid!) I mean that in the nicest possible way - but in the most serious way too!

Just today he said "mess" - he tipped his juice cup upside down and it dribbled apple juice on him in the car. Some of his words aren't as easily translated, and we have to work at it to figure it out, but once you get what he's trying to say it's more clear. At least to us... Like "juice" and "shoes" - two words he's been saying for a while now - they sound A LOT alike. But, there are others that need no explanation. "Cheese" is one of them. That kid would eat nothing but cheese if I let him - the sliced American cheese that it.

Other little things that probably aren't a big deal - every kid does them - but it's a big deal when your own does it. Like today at lunch he was stacking his juice cup on top of the lid of his little take-out cup (that I had fortunately emptied!) He balanced them really well and didn't knock it over once. And then there's his block sorter - you know, where they put the square block in the square hole and the round block in the round hole - he's sorting some of the shapes all on his own - without prompting from us. (I admit it, I've only worked with him on this like once or twice, so it's not like I'm "teaching" him this stuff!)

Although, with his newfound learning skills and language is coming the independent streak... like today when he decided he wasn't ready to leave the post office so he laid down in the floor. Typically this isn't a big deal - you pick the kid up and off you go. But with 8 months of a baby to bend over and carry along with the squirming toddler - not so easy... and you can't just drag him out of there by his arm! (Although there are times...)



But like I said, it's so exciting and at the end of the day, so rewarding it makes even the lay-on-the-floor fits worth it. Like when he says "thank you" without being prompted. Or when he climbs up on the couch next to you just for a snuggle. And then there's the smiles... Well, you get what I'm going for!

Such a great blessing to have such an awesome kid!

Halloween playdate party

Well, it's come and gone - and it was a blast. I decided to host a playdate at our house for Halloween so I sent the invite out to my Meetup group. We had 7 moms come (I think that's the right count) and two moms had 2 kids, so that makes 9 kids - plus Seth and myself made for 18 people in the house. It was great!

And, I'm proud to announce that I didn't have to chase Seth down to fuss at him for hitting or taking toys, okay, maybe I did have to watch him for the taking the toys thing... But believe it or not, one time when I told him to give it back he did! I'm SO proud! (Doesn't happen too often!)

I've decided that as crazy as these things may make me (Is it going to go well? Is anyone going to show up? Is my kids going to behave? Am I going to get my house clean? Will I be ready?...) I love doing them. I'm already thinking I'd like to do another one for Thanksgiving and definitely one for Christmas - but something tells me that with Kara due so close to Christmas it may not happen... Oh well, there's always next year!

Pumpkin Patch visit

Since I never posted on this... well, better late than never!

We went with our family and some friends to a nearby pumpkin patch - something I think we will make a tradition - and had a blast! Seth was big enough to enjoy it, and he LOVED all the pumpkins. "BALLS!!!" he kept saying. Except for getting his feet caught in the vines that were running all over the ground, I think he enjoyed it.

It was a little hard for me - all the walking and the up and down of the actual pumpkin patch, but it was so worth it! The one thing I hate though, is that by the time we got there and picked out our pumpkins and then decided it was time to visit the food stand for some ice cream - it was ALL gone! But, I got some hot apple cider, and we did stop on the way home at a Cold Stone Creamery, which was nice.

They had a few animals in stalls for the little kids to check out - Seth enjoyed that, although it wasn't really a "petting" area. I couldn't believe how crowded it was. The last time we went was two years ago and it was kind of overcast, so it wasn't nearly as busy.

And just think - next time we go we'll have another little one with us!

I think I've lost my mind...

So, I'm really starting to think that cloth may be the way to go. I spent a little over $30 on a pack of diapers for Seth the other day and it was only for something like 94 diapers. That's only about $0.32 a diaper, BUT, for some reason, he's had two pretty serious blowouts in these (same brand as we've been using). Also, if you consider we've been buying diapers for almost 2 years, if you estimate us using say, 5 diapers a day, that comes to about 3650 diapers costing us about $1168 - and he's not showing any signs of being even close to potty training...

I've got a few friends who are doing the cloth thing and it's starting to sound like maybe it's not the headache I once thought it was. Have I lost my mind? I wish I could say that I'm trying to consider the environment, but at this point, it's strictly about the $$ - and the fact that it's better for the earth is just a nice plus!

Anyone got any brands to recommend?