My First Kid's Birthday Party

Kyra has been talking about her birthday non stop for months. I seriously had to tell her, "babe, just stop thinking about it because it's 130 days away." Of course, as the time approached I began getting a little nervous that her party would not meet her expectations. She had plenty of grand ideas, but this momma is still adjusting to life of 3 children and knew that I had limitations. Fortunately, she has only gone to a few friend's birthday parties, and we have never put on one for more than family (therefore she didn't have much to compare it with).

When all was said and done, I think I threw a fairly tasteful party. There weren't a lot of kids, 6 in fact, but that seemed to work out just fine (we were supposed to have two more, but unfortunately one of them was under the weather...we missed you Sarah).

The itinerary went in my head like this...

11:30 pm: feed Andrew

12:00 pm: Lunch (corn dogs, cherry koolaid, cherry jello jigglers-cut out into hearts and teddy bears, veggie straws- a Cos*tco product, and grapes)

1:00 pm: leave for bowling

2:00 pm: come back from bowling

2:30 pm feed Andrew

3:00 pm: feed the kids cupcakes and ice cream, sing Happy Birthday, open gifts, and let the kids play

Of course, when do things ever go as planned when you have an infant right? First of all I don't know what I was thinking planning a birthday during the day when my hubby couldn't help. Second of all, I probably shouldn't have thought we could keep to such a timely schedule. So, we didn't exactly finish lunch in time, or even leave the bowling alley to come home in time (we didn't even get home till 3:15 pm). I kind of forgot we were bowling with 3-7 year olds. Fortunately, I came to my senses and thought I should invite the mom's just in case I needed help, because I sure did. And thankfully, my sister in-law offered several times to take Andrew while we went bowling (although I kept refusing until after lunch time, and then I decided I better drop him off). And you know what? We had lots of fun. It may have felt a little crazy at moments (especially with two nursing mommas), but the kids had fun, and it was fun to watch them bowl.

So, it wasn't exactly a Martha Stewart birthday, complete with coordinating theme and all. But thankfully my little 5 year old could care less and just enjoys time with friends. Yes, it was a fun birthday.

All the kiddos eating their cupcakes

The girls seemed to think stomping their feet would help their ball move faster down the lane

Butterfly cupcakes. This year Kyra didn't want a cake, just cupcakes with blue frosting for the boys and pink frosting for the girls. The girls also had a lot of fun and took great pride in being able to decorate the cupcakes themselves.

Happy 5th Birthday Kyra

KYRA.

Age: 5

Personality: Caring, considerate, stickler for rules, helper, social butterfly, striver of perfection. You are always seeking out new friends and love to play with others.

Favorites:
Foods: Hamburgers, corn, cherries, pb&j, mac & cheese, carrots, chocolate milk, and vanilla ice cream w/a cherry on top
Songs: I've got the Joy, This Little Light of Mine, Bubbly & Kidz Bop World (from Kidz Bop McD's CD)
Books: any Dora the Explorer books, Rapunzel, Peter Pan, Enchanted Tales
TV Shows: Martha, Word Girl, Super Why
Movies: Kung Fu Panda, Ice Age, Tinkerbell
Games: Littlest Pet Shop, Uno, Memory, Guess Who?
Toys: stuffed white doggy...Rose, Magna Doodle, My Little Ponies, any coloring books, bike, scooter
Activities w/Mommy: games, coloring, reading, baking
Activities w/Daddy: baking, games, exploring outside, bike riding

Dear Kyra,
You have grown up so much this past year. We have enjoyed watching you learn to ride your bike, pump your legs on the swing, pour your own milk, and hold your little brother. You are very helpful in calming Andrew down, insisting you know exactly what to do (and often you do). You have started sounding out words, and love to write people letters. Your relationship with your sister has flourished, and although you can sometimes be bossy, you love her dearly and have become best friends. You are a sweet girl that is growing up way too fast. But we enjoy watching you strive to learn new things. You can't wait to start school in a week (even asking if you were going to sleep there over night, and being disappointed when I said no). We know you will do well and look forward to hearing all the stories (because we all know you love to talk and ask questions)!

Love,
Mom and Dad

First Corn of the Season

It's that time of the year again!! Corn pickin time! Yes, this past week we had the first fruits of our labor (my hubby's labor anyway). We've had beans, cukes, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchinis, potatoes, and eggplant. But, it doesn't feel like summer until we've had corn from our own garden. After all, planting corn runs deep in the blood of the hub's family. I think my hubby would give up hunting before he would give up planting. He just gets a deep satisfaction out of watching our acres fill with corn. He will often take daily walks to see how much the stalks have filled out (I can't say that I could see much progress daily, but maybe he can). I bet he could even hear it grow. Okay, enough already, you get the picture. He LOVES corn.

My husband's love for corn has been inherently passed on to the girls. They have been eating it off the cob since they were 16 months old. They ask for it at every birthday meal, and are known to eat 3 cobs at a meal. This past week, Kyra even learned how to pick the ears off the stalk. She knows how to feel for fullness and everything. I was quite impressed. And I'm sure my hubby was beaming at his budding farmer.

So with out further adieu, here are this years pics of our kiddos eating their corn (we've taken a picture every year).

(Might as well start him out early!!)

Andrew Update

It is so hard to believe Andrew is already 2 months old today. It seems like I just wrote about his one month old update a short while ago (although I guess that will happen when you don't post things that often).

Andrew is growing like a weed. There are some days I think he grew overnight! He's growing little chunker thighs and sporting a double chin. In general he is having more content moments, which is a huge blessing considering he hasn't been the most content baby (I was under the impression that many 3rd children were easy going, but I don't think that's the case in our family...at least not yet). He wants to be held much of the time or put in a baby carrier. In his defense though, he might have acid reflux, which I'm sure is causing much of his irritability. He clenches his stomach, spits up, and gags a lot. This problem has gotten better over the last month, so we are hoping to be on the up and up. On a positive note, we got our EEG results back and Andrew is not having seizures. We were very thankful to hear that news.

I still haven't exactly heard any cooing (although my mom said she did), but he does like to squeal when he's happy and moans when he's sucking on his binki. The smiles are also poppin up more frequently, which I absolutely love. He's also a kicker. This child DOES NOT sit still. He's definitely a mover and a shaker (hmmm...is this a sign for things to come?) He is constantly waving his arms and kicking his legs, which is another reason why I still have to swaddle him when we put him to bed (otherwise he wakes himself up with his movements).

For the past week, he has been getting up only one time a night. Although after he eats at 3 a.m. he doesn't seem to want to go back to bed like he did before. Yes, now he thinks it's play time. So, he's up for close to 2 hours before he goes back to bed. I'm hoping this trend will go away quickly. I must be getting used to the night feedings though because I'm not too tired in the morning anymore (which I suppose is good considering Kyra starts school pretty soon).

The girls continue to enjoy their little brother as if he had just come home from the hospital. Katie is constantly kissing him. We have to ward her off, just so he isn't over stimulated. And Kyra is always helping me by finding a binki I've misplaced, or retrieving a burp cloth I forgot to get before I sat down to nurse.

Yes, life has certainly changed, but we are beginning to adapt, and are enjoying life as a family of five. I am looking forward to fall, getting back into a schedule (as much as I can), and hopefully gaining more time to get more daily chores accomplished. Thanks to all our friends and family who have prayed for us over the past couple of months. We truly appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and support.

(Andrew at 3 days old)

(Andrew at 2 months old. Same exact expression!)

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Our kids say the darndest things. Here are a couple of the cute things Katie said this week:

During prayer time:
Mom: Katie would you like to pray?
Katie: Can I say "Dear Lord Jesus?" (That's a recited prayer that she always resorts to. She's not one to pray impromptu.)
Mom: How about you just tell Jesus some of the things you are thankful for?
Katie: Okaaay. Dear Jesus, thank you for my family. Thank you toilet paper and the potty. And thank you my ducky. Amen.
(Seriously? The potty? She doesn't even like to use the potty. I just love young children's prayers.)

Trying to pick a game to play:
Mom: What game would you like to play?
Katie: Remembering.
(that would be Memory)

If you'd like to read more tiny talk, just visit Mary's.

Friday Foto

The girls wanted to play doctor yesterday, and we had a very willing participant!!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Grandpa and Grandma were here last weekend visiting our fam. Of course they were a great help as always. I was able to get some things done that I've been putting on the back burner. I also always enjoy their company too. During their stay, the girls also had some funny things to say (all of which I forgot to write down). Fortunately, this time I remembered a few of the things they said (maybe I'm starting to regain some of that pregnancy brain back!). Here it goes:

During dinner time:
Katie: (whispering to her sister) Kyra, let's pretend we're people!
(Around this house they're considered aliens:) What does she think she is?)

During prayer time at dinner:
Kyra: (Kyra said the prayer) Dear Lord, thank you for this weekend and the time we had having fun. Thank you we could be together as a family. Lord please help all the people throwing up. Amen. (Since she is always thanking or asking God for help having fun, we told her that we need to be thinking of people in need....ex: sick people. Apparently people throwing up were on the top of her list!!)

During playtime outside with Grandma:
(during their exploration time outside, our dog unfortunately brought grandma a dead baby bunny)
Kyra: Grandma I think I should bury it. That's what my daddy does. (you can tell she lives on a farm, she's so matter of fact, obviously not scarred by this incident)
Grandma: Are you sure you can do it?
Kyra: Yes, in fact I think he'd like to be buried in our sandbox.
(fortunately Grandma had the good sense to not let that happen. Now I'm just a little worried to find out if anything else is hiding in our sandbox!)

If you'd like to read more tiny talk, just visit Mary's