A Visit from Kayla

Our family has GROWN since she was home one year ago!

Rayna will be one next week.

Calden is 5 months old today!

Mom and Dad got a new Great Pyrenees puppy that was 9 weeks old on the picture.

Oh, and AHEM, Kristina will be 30 next week! Couldn't leave that one out.

We soaked up every moment of Kayla's visit. We even had an ITINERARY. :-)

Oh Where, oh Where did our Summer Go?

Sigh. It's been good. Real Good.

These little toes have been bare for most of his life.

Nothing quite like fresh cow's milk for an after-school revival. As our family says, "Thank you, Clydette!"

Barefoot bike ride, lost in her endless wanderings.

Just pondering. This girl does lot of it.

First summer with three. 

Third try for family picture. Too bad Rhya had a swollen cheek.

Soaking up Auntie Jen time. 

Getting better acquainted with Uncle Bill. 

The blog somehow missed most of the summer. You'll have to check out Shutterfly for the full scoop!

Meet Quiet, Reserved, Brielle

....depends on the scenario!

And She's Off

Four year old kindergarten. Who would've thought there'd ever be such a thing?

My Mommy brakes were on big time but Rhya was very enthused. In fact, she wished to wait for the bus by herself (big girl mode) but Brielle and I accompanied her to the end of the driveway.

Brielle asked, "I go to school too peese, Mommy?" She was very sad about it but had enough time to process it that she was fine when the moment actually came for Rhya to go off.

Rhya picked out all of her outfits for the week and combed her own hair for the day (she hardly ever wants her hair down, but that's what she chose)

The bus driver had to wait a looonggg time for her to get up those big steps and sit down. She walked turtle speed and stopped and stared for a while before passing the bus driver. :-) (I think she was waiting for him to say something to her because I had told her ahead of time to wait til he beckoned her in but he was busy talking into his intercom)

Part of me drove away on that bus. 

Rhya is ESPECIALLY lucky because she gets her very own GRANDMA in her 4YK class!! Grandparents day is every day for this girl!

Kid Quotes

Brielle got full eating popcorn and still had a few kernels left on her plate. Off they went, flying through the air, one at a time, and plopping on the floor with a glorious tap. She looked at me, like, whatcha gonna do?
I informed her that she'd be picking them up before she left the kitchen. She pretended to have the greatest time in the kitchen for at least 15 minutes (even though I could tell she wanted to leave). Finally she ran over, picked them up as fast as she could and asked, "Make you happy, Mom?"

Gma Mo generously doled out a piece of gum for each girl before leaving to go home. I reminded Brielle about five times to SPIT it out, NOT swallow it when she was done. She wanted to show me everything she could do with gum. She picked up her milk glass and took a couple of swigs. I asked, 'Brielle, do you still have your gum?" She said, "Yep! Look, Mommy! Bielle's gum is waerpooof (waterproof!)"

Last week I spent a good ten minutes digging craft eyeballs out of Brielle's nose. Yep, there was one in each nostril. I couldn't even see the 2nd one so I showed her how to plug one nostril and blow OUT really hard. She plugged one nostril and breathed IN very ferociously. We finally got the thing out, but evidently she's in an exploratory stage with her body cavities. Yesterday she came up to me with two coins (from Rhya's wallet) and said, "Here Mommy, gum! One a (for) Mommy and one a Bielle!" Then she popped a nickel in her mouth. SCARY!!! The coins will be hiding for a while!

We talk about age quite a bit. The other day I casually told Rhya, "Four is a really fun age!" She responded with, " Yep, I am glad that God did that number."

We went camping with BethArlene and Heidi. Heidi lived with us for a few months a couple of years ago and Rhya got to know her very well. However, two years is a long time to not see someone for a 4 year old, so it took Rhya a few hours to get acquainted. The next morning she told Heidi, "I didn't know you very well before, but I know you now! I like you. That's why I follow you EVERYWHERE" :-)
Heidi and BethArlene sure knew what it was to have sidekicks on that vacation!

Calden at 11 Weeks, 14 pounds

Our happy boy smiles and coos at anyone who will coo in his face

He has pulled about 6 all nighters (12 hours straight!), but usually wakes up once (sometimes twice) for a refill. He always goes right back down. I nurse him in bed so we both hardly wake up. Sometimes I forget to put him back in his bedside bassinet so he gets snuggle time in the big bed. :-)

Little peanut is still very portable and sleeps on the go. Thanks to the Moby wrap, we've had a lot of successful outings. He's ALWAYS happy in it. The car seat is usually only acceptable when the van is moving, but he's stayed sleeping in it through meeting and other events a few times.

He LOVES to look around. When he's in the exploring mood his little breaths get fast and excited and his head goes back and forth over and over as he tries to see everything in his range. Usually his arms and legs start pumping!

We both LOVE diaper changes. He gets to happily relieve himself on the potty chair while I get to save on diapers and 'discuss life' with my baby while he's on the pot. I am SO GLAD that I discovered the concept of Elimination Communication. It has worked wonders with all three kids.  

He seems to enjoy most of his big sister's antics and doesn't mind their 'clumsier' forms of showing love (suffocating hugs, paci shoved way too far in, zero personal bubble room). Calden loves to watch them and still tolerates being held by his biggest sister. He is not a fan of being set down unless someone is there to humor him!

We went through the first nine weeks with only a couple of bibs as he wasn't much of a spitter. I need to buy about 15 bibs now, as he is constantly drooling. A shirt won't go two minutes without getting wet!

Calden has been WIDE eyed ever since birth. When he's awake his eyes are usually open as far as possible. It was amusing at first but now we're used to it and I hardly notice. It's just his normal, I guess!

So far, he's built very similar to his sisters with not much chunckiness. He has long thin legs, arms, and fingers. The only pudge that stands out is the adorable, squishy little double chin that he was born with. I wonder if he'll end up with brown eyes as they are a lot darker than Rhya and Brielle's light blue eyes.

Life seems so normal and comfortable and so very special with another little being! Oh to freeze and replay all of the adorable/precious/funny moments with our little loves. 

Perfect Solution

The other day Rhya was being a stinker and she knew it. Brielle was trying to take a nap, I was nursing Calden, and Rhya was supposed to be having quiet time on her bunk.
She was yelling kicking, and carrying on something fierce. Then she cried out, "Why can't you just PRETEND I am being good??!"