A Thankful 2011

I am so thankful for many things this holiday season.  A beautiful and smart little 5 year old girl who loves to learn and loves to sing songs about God.  Getting to enjoy her first choir performance at church.  Baking gingerbread cookies with her in our beautiful aprons handmade by Nanna.  Watching Christmas be truly magical for her.  Her ability to control the frequency and intensity of tantrums improves every day.  She lavishes so much love on her mommy and daddy and wants to spend every minute with us.

A skinny cutie pie 1 year old boy who speaks so enthusiastically in his own baby language.  The adorable way he rolls his r's!  His sweet hugs and snuggles reserved primarily just for mommy.  His enjoyment of dancing, climbing, log-rolling on the floor, running, trying to jump, and anything else physical. 

A husband who works hard to take care of his family and who lavishes lots of love on us.  Who takes good care of himself and makes me proud every day with his discipline.  Who knows me inside and out - the good, bad and ugly - yet still wants to hug me every night!

This blog post could go on forever...about parents, brother, sister-in-law, miracle niece, friends, ability to travel and do lots of fun things, good jobs.... I am blessed beyond belief.  Thank you God for an amazing 2011. 

Jingle Incurs the Wrath of Katelynn

On night 5, Jingle rifled through Katelynn's advent boxes.  He went through every one of them until he found one that had candy in it.  Very elf like, don't you think?!

I thought this was hilarious but should have known better. KK is pretty attached to her beloved advent boxes.  After all, that tradition started years before Jingle showed up!  Our morning started with crying and a declaration that "he hurt my little feelings."  I had to put EXTRA candy in the box, close it back up, and let her open it.  You would think the darn elf actually ate her candy.

So, elf fail #1.

On night 6, Jingle decided to make it up to her:

This was a success.  She stated several times:  "I can't believe he knows my name, mommy!"

Now on night 7- Jingle is still all about the sweets.  I saw this one on someone's blog and thought it was cute.  He went after the maple syrup in the pantry.  Gene pointed out this might attract bugs but I'm taking my chances...

Jingle's Adventures - Nights 3 and 4

Yesterday little girl went off to Weatherford for a night with her Nanna and PopPop.  Jingle traveled with her, inside her little Tinkerbell suitcase, and adapted well to the new location. Saturday morning he was located riding in a vintage toy car.

(The truck is an amazing antique toy that belonged to my grandfather as a boy.  Jingle already knew that, of course.  This Elf has good taste.)

On Saturday evening he returned home and decided to go fishing.  He broke into KK's candy stash to get the fishing rod so she may not be too happy about that.  We shall see!  I know she will be up bright and early to search for him...

I thought that some of you might enjoy a good laugh by this blogger that isn't too happy with us Elf loving mamas - check this post.  (Warning - reads like a crude standup routine - but hilarious nonetheless.) 

Very Pinteresty

When it comes to teacher gifts, I think substance is important...in other words - GIFT CARDS. Let's keep it real here - they deserve a little more than a candle at Christmas for all they put up with during the year!  However, I'm all about packaging it up in some sort of cute way and Pinterest is perfect for that.  This year, each teacher got a package of Extra gum (plus a Target gift card) inside a clear gift baggie along with a note like this one tied onto the bag (created in Photoshop Elements):

Cute, huh?  The downside of Pinterest:  I may never have another original idea in my life.

Elvish Fun - Nights 1 and 2

After Jingle arrived this week, Katelynn quickly became obsessed with feeding him.  She really wanted to set out a meal for him.  I pointed out that our story book said nothing about this - so therefore Santa must feed him, or he could take care of himself.  You know, he could stop by the local McDonalds' on his flight home from the North Pole.  (Side note:  It's so funny that kids want their fairy tales to be logical to some extent.  Yes, she can believe that there is a small felt elf that moves about our house at night, but surely he needs to eat!) 

So, I thought it would be appropriate for Jingle to set up his own tea party on night 1.  Here he is with a couple of KK's beanie babies. 

When KK woke up this morning, she immediately went and checked Jingle's previous resting spot on the fireplace mantel.  She ran to our bedroom, where I was getting ready, and announced excitedly:  "He's gone mommy!  He moved!"  She had a bit of trepidation about searching for him alone, so she waited till I was ready and we journeyed into the living room/kitchen area together.  As soon as I flipped the lights on she saw Jingle and his tea party.  She was just bursting at the seams with glee and excitement; I love seeing my normally somber (or irritable or grouchy) girl like this!  She really started giggling when she discovered there was actually water in the cups.  Then she flooded me with a barrage of questions:  How did the other animals get down the stairs?  How did Jingle find all the plates?  And on and on.... oooh I'm buried deep in lies now!  (The tangled webs we weave...)

Tonight I decided to borrow one of those Pinterest ideas.  Jingle couldn't find any snow here in Texas so he played in the rice instead.  Good thing we have a humongous bag for him:

Looking forward to another morning with a mesmerized little girl...

The Answer is Yes

About once a month, LBJ Highway is a complete disaster and Gene takes back roads all the way home from work. When this happens, I often get a phone call that goes something like this:
Gene:  "I'm taking back roads home...want me to stop there?"
Katie:  "Yes."

Gene:  "I wish the calories weren't so high."
Katie:  "I don't care.  My weight never changes.  Stop and get them."
Gene:  "I wish it wasn't so expensive to buy a small amount."
Katie:  "It's a rip off.  Get a dozen."


By now you may have figured out we are talking about cookies (as if the picture didn't give it away).  Very, very decadent cookies.  From Paradise Bakery.  These things are amazing.  Gene's favorites are chocolate chip sprinkled with toasted coconut.  My favorite is a toss-up - chocolate chip walnut or oatmeal raisin. And since we have a strange 5-year old that does not like cookies, we have 6 apiece to ourselves....or maybe that is a curse.  We made the mistake of looking up the calories one time.  About 300 big ones for one chocolate chip cookie.  


Nope - so worth it.   I'll just run 5 extra miles this week.

It Only Took An Elf....

Jingle awaits his first night of mischief in the Kim home...

....to break my 2+ month blogging hiatus??

I guess we will see.  Lately I just haven't been feeling the blog thing.  It seems like one more "to do" on a big, long stressful list... writing is normally enjoyable for me but it can also feel like work when I'm trying to make it read somewhat decently for my vast audience (ok, so all 3 of you).  So I just decided not to do it for awhile.  But today our "Elf on the Shelf" arrived in the mail and the whole experience has screamed "Blog me!" 

I had no idea what an Elf on the Shelf was till this year.  I will chalk this new (to me) discovery up to our friend the Internet, and Pinterest.  It seemed like suddenly I was seeing pictures of this happy little elf doing all sorts of silly things in peoples' homes.  The basic jist:  your elf is keeping an eye on your kids and flies to the North Pole every night to report in to Santa. He doesn't move except when the little ones are fast asleep.  When the kids wake up in the morning, the first thing they do is see what their elf has been up to. 

So for $30 on Amazon Marketplace we got our little elf and the nice book that comes with him.  Seemed a little steep to me, but - let me tell you- I have one smitten 5 year old.  I think it is going to be way more than $30 worth of fun for both of us!  This is right up this mommy's alley.  KK has already named him Jingle and is taking all the "rules" laid out by the book very seriously.  (She can't touch him... he can't talk but is observing her...etc.)  She has talked about nothing else all evening!  She even said at one point:  "Mommy, he's eyeing me!"  Hmmm...it does kinda' feel like his eyes follow you around the room...a little spooky actually.  And thanks to the Internet, I don't have to come up with too many ideas on my own, just enjoy the fun of making them happen.  I can already pick from a vast list.... should Jingle be fishing for goldfish crackers?  Decorating cookies?  Making snow angels in rice?  Hmmmm....what to do first?  I can't wait for her to fall asleep! 

More blogs later with some of Jingle's antics...

Oh Happy [Reading] Day!

Today Katelynn read the following words all on her own, using phonics:  am, an, ad, at, rat, pat, sat, cat, fat, mat, bat, hat, man, fan, ban, ran, can, van, tan

What an amazing parenting moment to see that lightbulb over her head go "click!"  I was a little hesitant about this post because I don't want to come across as a show off and I certainly try not to be one of "those parents" who talks incessantly about her kids.  But I am posting away, because it was truly a joyful moment that I couldn't help but document!  She was beyond excited; it's rare to see my often serious girl with such a big smile plastered on her face.  And mommy was excited too.  We called Daddy and Nanna right away.  


For anyone interested or curious, we have been working through The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise and Sara Buffington.  My friend Erin recommended it.  The format is easy to follow for both parent and child, and has been fun for both of us.

A Post for Nanna

Well, I know that Nanna will not be happy about the Pinterest post unless it is followed with appropriate posting and pictures of one of her grandchildren.  Tyler has been up to a lot of cute things lately that I felt deserved a mention anyway.

13 months is such a fun age.  It is also really interesting to watch your second grow and see how different kids are from one another.  Things I somehow expected to be the "same" as his big sis are so different.  For example, Tyler walked a little earlier than KK - but that's not what surprised me.  I knew there might be differences like that.  But he did surprise me with the insane speed in which he has ramped up to coordinated FAST walking.  The little guy could tear across the living room at warp speed with a couple of weeks of his first steps.  KK's ramp up to fast walking was much more slow and cautious and took a couple of months.  

Tyler is super expressive and chatty - this is the same as his sis.  However while she spoke her first clear word at 7 months, he still mainly babbles. However, it is clear he is trying to communicate.  His favorite word besides "mama" is "Oh!" - said in all sorts of cute and different ways and with different kinds of emphasis, often as a means to point out things he wants to touch or "discuss" with mommy. I really need to capture it on video because it is melt-your-heart adorable.   

He loves to take things in and out of bags and can occupy himself for quite awhile with this task.  He likes to get into the plastic cups in the pantry and take them in and out of the various school lunch bags that reside there.  He then proudly carries his filled bag around the living room.  He has become super observant of the world around him.  He likes to get his own wad of toilet tissue and hurl it into the potty after mommy, sister or daddy are done.  He also likes to take a wet wash cloth and "clean" the floor the way he sees mommy do so frequently. 

Who knew these tiny little people would capture my heart so... Yes, Nanna, you knew - didn't you?!

Pinterest Projects

So, I can thank/blame my lovely SIL Jen and this blog post for introducing me to Pinterest.  Not only am I copying Pinterest, but I am also copying her with my latest projects.  I will also attempt to use this as my latest sorry excuse for not blogging too much these days...a girl can only focus on so many things at once!

Project 1
I finally tackled the "art wall" that I had wanted to create for the little girl, to display all her creative drawings and crafts.   Here's the inspiration from Pinterest, which Jen found for me... she is also doing a smaller version for her daughter's play room:

And here's my almost identical take on it:

I got the vinyl letters from DIY Lettering, and the service/ quality was great. 

Project 2
I love candy displays and have seen some cute ones on Pinterest, but they seemed pretty loud and large.  Then I saw my SIL's take on the Pinterest project and pretty much exactly copied her version.  This will be my new tribute to seasonal decorating, since I basically do NONE other than Christmas.  At least  now I will have some appropriate candy for each holiday/season.  Here's the original idea from Pinterest:

And here's my version which is similar to Jen's...I might add a cute ribbon to it to liven it up a bit:

Also thanks to Pinterest/Jen I have become re-enthused about home decorating.  I feel I am below average at it, but I am trying to improve by copying all these great ideas.  I am also finding that browsing lots of pictures helps to train my eye as to what looks good in a room.  It still does not come naturally for me at all.  But I have spruced up a few things in my living room and bedroom without spending too much $$.  Maybe a separate post later about that! 



iPad

The other night our creative little 4 year old brought us a picture she had created and asked if we knew what it was.  The answer?  It was her personal iPad that she thinks she should receive for Christmas - ha!  I have nothing else to say here...

KK's picture

This is what she was drawing - not bad!

The Incident

So, last weekend we were at our favorite Mexican place, Mi Chulas.  Lately we find ourselves there a lot after Gene's long Saturday morning run.  He is starving hungry and wants lot of carbs.  It is a nice family outing and combination fajitas for two feeds our entire clan - even TyTy now chows down on the beans and rice and indulges in a bit of fajita meat too.  The managers know us as regulars.
I had taken KK to the pool that morning.  As is typical, she did not eat much breakfast before we went.  Then I took her for a slurpee after our pool trip.  Gene was at home recovering from his run and taking care of Tyler.  Then we all got ready and headed out to lunch - by the time we got there it was nearly 1 pm and all Kims were starving, not just the runner.  The restaurant was packed because of tax free shopping weekend.

We were all inhaling the chips and salsa.  Then Katelynn said "Mommy, I feel like I need to cough - but I can't."  Suddenly, vomit was pouring out of her.  I mean POURING out.  To quote my brother's longtime friend Kevin: "It was quite the launch."  At this particular restaurant, they use cloth napkins and keep them stacked in a square bin on the table.  Gene rapidly began unwrapping the napkins and tossing them under Katelynn's faucet mouth.  Every time he would get another napkin down, more would pour out and he would frantically unwrap another.  We went through about 6 nice cloth napkins before it all seemed to be over.  I tried to make a big mountain out of the napkins to hide the situation from our closest table mates.

At this point the manager had taken note and was trying to help.  We were desperately trying to shield all the mess with the napkins so as not to completely offend the entire restaurant.  Luckily it was loud and that seemed to help - if anyone did notice they didn't give it away with a look of disgust - as I surely would have at the sight of another child barfing in a restaurant.  KK's shirt and shorts were covered in it - mostly red/purple from the Slurpee. 

I headed to the one-stall bathroom to clean her up.  (Note to self:  Will carry emergency clothes in the car at ALL times from now on.)  She was grossed out by her barfy shirt and shorts, but all I could do was rinse them out a little and make her put them back on - damp clothing heavily stained with purple puke....lovely.  After a few minutes a woman waiting to pee begain to get impatient and knock rudely on the bathroom door.  Whatdoyouwantmetodolady?!

Finally, I return to the table with a little girl streaked in Slurpee vomit.  Tyler has been screaming his head off at the table the entire time I am gone- HUGE mama's boy. In his fury he knocks over a large glass of tea that had been moved too close to him during the great vomit clean-up. Gene and I are both so frazzled by this point!  I am just trying to get my wits about me, and KK begins begging for steak fajitas.  Try explaining to a starving 4 year old that you really don't want them to eat...

Needless to say I did not enjoy my meal.  I shoved a couple of fajitas down, all the while arguing with Katelynn that she should only eat one tortilla for lunch and wait to see if she was ok.  Turns out she was - but mommy and daddy are scarred for life.  If you ever want to see Gene or me recoil in horror, just mention "The Incident" to us.  No additional description needed.

First Steps, First Birthday

 

Tyler John is one now - how did this happen?!  He is at a very FUN age and it will be a little sad to see the "baby" slowly disappear over the next several months.  Sniff sniff.  But I know with that disappearance will come lots of fun new developments as well.  


TyTy took his first steps on August 13th, a little over a week before his big birthday.  As of today he is still very tentatively making little "bursts" of walking from one piece of furniture to another.  I have tried to capture all this on video with no luck so far.  It's like he knows what I am trying to do and immediately sits down when the iPhone comes out.  He is pretty cute though.  His preferred method to attempt walking is to slowly stand up from a sitting position - with no assistance from any furniture or objects!  Then he looks for me, smiles and claps, then takes off for several steps. Then he sits down before he even has a chance to get wobbly.  


Last weekend we had a very fun family party to celebrate one year of our little guy.  I chose a monkey theme and had a lot of fun with that.  We served a yummy lunch and then had all the usual festivities - smash cake for Tyler, opening presents, etc.  We also adorned him in his formal Korean wear purchased by his Grandma Joy and he didn't seem to mind.  We had four kiddos in attendance - KK, cousin Izzy, and our best friends Bobby and Lindsay.  Since it was just a small number of kids I splurged on the goody bags and everyone got an adorable Ty stuffed monkey, plus some monkey tattoos and candy. Pink for the girls, brown for Bobby.  


KK was a wonderful big sister and helped to open presents, dress TyTy in his outfit, etcetera.  She got enough attention that she didn't seem to mind the fact that it wasn't her party.  I know that my dad was giving her lots of positive reinforcement which helped a ton in this regard - THANKS PopPop!  All in all, it was a wonderful time with family.  We are so very blessed!  

What I'm Learning Lately

Hmmmm, I keep thinking I am going to catch up on my family blog posts - some funny incidents, a great first birthday party, some first steps.... and yet God has been putting other blog-items on my heart.  Lately I have tried to ask daily - "God, what are you trying to teach me today?"  And wow, have I been learning a lot!  


So where to start with this one?  A little history perhaps.  College... Aggieland... what a fun time in my life.  I have so many amazing memories and it was such a great time of being independent but with no real responsibilities yet.  I knew it too - I remember telling myself repeatedly to savor those moments.  During college I also met about 5,000 "friends" and was quite the social butterfly.


Yet one interesting thing about college - a lot of the friendships were so fleeting.  You shared a class with some.  You shared a dorm floor with others.  You attended football games, Bible studies, sat in the dining hall together...  It was a revolving door of fun and people!  This became more apparent to me with the advent of Facebook.  I would get friend requests from Aggie friends and I had to rack my brain to even remember who some of them were.  However, Facebook has also given me the opportunity to get to know some of those casual friends better over the past several years.


There is one such friend - we will call him John here on the blog to protect his privacy.  I have gotten to know more about him through "social networking" via Facebook than I ever did in Aggieland.  So when his dad suddenly got sick a few weeks ago, I felt an unexpected tug at my heart for him - one that had me checking his Facebook page for updates, praying for his family, and even giving regular reports to my husband.  


Last night John lost his dad.  He left a very sweetly worded post on Facebook - about God sometimes choosing to heal our loved ones in heaven instead of here on Earth.  Next thing you know I am crying in my car.   Now, I do not consider myself a naturally compassionate person.  It seems to be an area where God is trying to mold me; to make me better.  I never know when compassion with "strike" - but strike it did today, as I think about my college friend and his family, and their terrible loss.    

Life's Lessons

Tonight I was determined to tackle a big ugly pile of papers in our office. It needs to be organized, sorted, filed, scanned, etcetera - all my specialities!  Then I came across a folder of my memorabilia that my mom saved and passed along to me.  Instead of tackling the task at hand, I found myself reading the poems and stories I wrote in my school days - all the way from elementary to high school.  What happened to that creative girl?!  That creative girl became a bean counter, a mommy who worries too much, an overly analytical woman who has a hard time going with the flow of life - always seeking control in a world where I don't really have it. Now don't get me wrong, I had plenty of self-induced stress in my younger days too.  But there was a creative part of me that seems to become buried more deeply with each passing year of adult life. 

Feeling guilty that I wasn't conquering that to-do list, I decided to read one more "free verse" that I wrote and then close up the file of creativity.  What a choice that final reading was...it begged to be blogged:

The days pass in a blur
And how easily we watch them fly
The work, the stress.
The pain.

And one more sunset gone!
But which will be the last sunset?
The last sunrise?

Which will be the last embrace,
The last smile,
The last time we love?

The miracle of life arrives
And departs freely
Many fools watch the miracle escape
Yet it always lingers
Waiting to be caught.

Drama Camp

Last week Katelynn attended "drama camp" at the Texas Creative Arts Academy here in Coppell.  The theme was "Tangled" from this Winter's big Disney hit about Rapunzel and everyone in class was 4 to 6 years old.  It was an appropriate theme since this movie was also her first to see on the big screen with her PopPop earlier this year. On Friday they put on a mini-performance that was very cute.  KK's primary role was to sing, as part of the ensemble, the song they learned during the week.  There were about 8 different Rapunzels throughout the little performance, all with 1 speaking line apiece.  From conversations with KK, I got the idea that she got to practice speaking lines during the week but froze up every time she was supposed to perform on cue.

I also knew that she didn't have the entire song memorized and it seemed to bother her a lot.  During the performance her eyes were glued on the instructor with a bit of a worried look.  Once her "part" was done she seemed to thoroughly enjoy watching the other kids perform.

Something must have "clicked" over the weekend.  Suddenly she knew the entire song complete with motions and she has been regaling us regularly.  Here are the words - definitely a mouthful to memorize for any kid!

Seven a.m. the usual morning line up
Start on the chores and sweep till the floor's all clean
Polish and wax do laundry and mop and shine up
Sweep again and by then it's like seven 15

And so i'll read a book
Or maybe 2 or 3
I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery
I'll play gutair and knit
And cook and basically
Just wonder when will my life begin

Dealer

Yes, apparently I am a dealer now.  A tea dealer, that is. 

Most anyone who has been to our home has been offered our favorite Ibis Moon mango tea.  We always keep a large batch on hand - an embarrassingly large batch in fact:

This is the same tea served at Tin Star, La Madeleine, Paradise Bakery and Mi Chulas - so you may have tried it.  Yes, we keep track of the fine restaurants that carry this product.  We used to frequent Tin Star primarily for our tea fix, and finally Gene thought to look at the name of it and write it down.  Our friend google directed us to Royal Cup Coffee.  The catch?  You must purchase 24 large bags full of loose leaves at about $50 total for the order.  This didn't stop us - enter Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker and a coffee filter to hold the loose leaves...plus a ding to our monthly grocery budget a couple of times a year. 

Over time, various friends have asked about the tea and want to get "in" on our bulk purchase.  I have sold half of my last two purchases to my friends Mary and Sally.  I've been a good dealer and sold at cost.... at least until they are addicted like us.... Bwahahahahahaha.....

Summer Art

Summer has meant more downtime for Katelynn, and hence more time at her beloved art stand.  I love seeing what she creates these days.  Here are some of my favorites, with titles as explained by Miss KK herself:

"Dinosaurs"

"Mommy, Baby and Cherry Tree"

"Fish Tank"

"Dragonfly"

"Rocketship"

"Sunflower"

??????

"Rainbow Tree"

"Harry the Hopeful Horse"

Ravaged

We spent several days in San Antonio over Independence Day.  Katelynn seemed to be struggling with a nasty cold, but playing in the cool swimming pools seemed to keep her in good spirits so we weren't too worried about it.  The day we made the five hour drive home, Gene and I made plans for our two upcoming "date days" we had scheduled.  We felt very smart that we had planned ahead of time for a vacation-from-the-vacation!  We had many things planned - movies, some good meals sans kiddos, exercise, and errands.

As the day progressed Katelynn seemed more and more listless.  We pulled into the garage around 5:30 and unloaded our obscene amount of bags.  I dug out the thermometer and was shocked when it read - 104 degrees!  I called my pediatrician and was lucky to get a 6:30 appointment due to a cancellation.  KK and I turned around and left the house again. 

What followed was an extremely scary "mommy moment" when I was told my little girl had viral pneumonia, and that we would have been calling the ambulance in the night if we had not come in.  I hid my tears from my little one and the mommy guilt set in -  how didn't I know she was so sick?!  We headed home with a mess of drugs and a nebulizer.

To make a looong story short(er), Gene and I woke up with similar crud the next day.  We tried to evacuate the baby to Nanna's house and he got it the next day.  Among the four of us, there have been six doctor trips so far with at least one more to go!  Dates were cancelled, the house became a disaster, the to-do list grew. 

In the middle of all this I found myself, foggy-headed, organizing one of my drawers.  I then asked myself:  "Self, what in the heck are you doing?!  This is madness"  Then it dawned on me - I was grasping for control... control over anything!  I thought I had my little world under my control and this was a big reality check!  Through this experience, God has taught me to appreciate every day of good health with which we are blessed.

Left from Right

Our little girl struggles with "trying" sometimes - she doesn't like to do things unless she can do them perfectly the first time.  As a mommy I do worry about her in this regard; I would like her to be a bit more of a free spirit sometimes that samples and dabbles in life. Maybe this is because I am not much of a free spirit and sometimes think I would be able to relax and enjoy life a little more if I were!

One of the many things she complains about doing, because of this personality trait, is putting on her shoes.  It distresses her that she gets the feet mixed up. When it is time to leave the house she spends a lot of time whining about wanting mommy and daddy to put the shoes on for her.

Recently I realized this has not been occurring - she has been doing shoes by herself - and getting the shoes on the correct feet!  Something must have just "clicked" in her brain.  It's funny how milestones work that way most of the time.  We can encourage and teach them, but eventually things just have to come together on their own for our kiddos. 

Next up...tying shoes!

13 Years

On June 5th, Gene and I celebrated our 13th anniversary. Yes, so this post is over a month behind...that is life these days! I cannot believe it has been 13 years - time has flown.  What blows me away even more is that in 13 more years, which will presumably fly even faster with two little ones, Katelynn will be nearly 18 and entering her senior year of high school.  Tyler will be almost 14 and entering his last year of middle school.  Noooooooo!  A sobering thought...

We have spent many an anniversary evening at Lockheart Gables. Some wonderful friends, David and Marilyn Lewis, own this fabulous B&B that is tailored to provide romantic getaways for married couples.  It is near the cultural district in Fort Worth so there are plenty of great things to do and wonderful places to eat.  Since Nanna and PopPop don't live too far from Ft Worth it is also very ideal to go drop the kiddos with them (thankyouthankyouthankyou), then head off for our overnight getaway.  We once again stayed in the "Love Nest".  Apparently it used to be a big "sleeping porch" back in the day when it was built in the late 1800's - very cool!  Upon check-in, the Lewis's provide personalized gingerbread cookies and tea or lemonade.  Gourmet breakfast is served in your room.  I had an incredible omelet and Gene had apple pecan pancakes.  We both had fresh fruit, juice, and a heart shaped homemade cinnamon bun.  Yummmm.  It was a much needed break from the little ones with time to focus on each other. 

I love you Gene!  Here's to 13 more, and 13 after that, and 13 after that and....

Developments

Well, I certainly have fallen off the blogging mark when it comes to recording Tyler's milestones, especially in comparison to his sister. Lately by the time we get them to bed I usually just want to vegetate in front of the TV and take a break from parenthood for a few minutes.  So, first teeth, sitting up, pulling up, crawling... all have gone undocumented.  Today I put the big iron gate up to keep him away from the stairs and wondered where the heck the last ten months have gone!

TyTy has some very sweet personality traits that I did want to remember to document though.  Lately, all I have to do is put a blanket on my shoulder at nap time or night time, and that is his cue to snuggle in while I sing to him - as long as he is tired enough.  It is the best thing ever.  I could sit there for an hour like that if he would let me.  It really helps to fill the empty mommy tank.  He also has started to develop his own little sense of humor.  Tonight it took him over 30 minutes to get through a bottle because he decided he wanted to "share" with mommy.  Every time I pretended to slurp some milk he erupted in giggles.  Then he would take a couple of sips and do it again.  Repeat x50! 

KK's developments lately primarily revolve around artistic endeavors and vocabulary.   Her coloring abilities are quite amazing for her age - lots of patience and attention to detail - and she draws some beautiful and creative pictures too.  Last week she painted four separate pictures:  a tornado, a cave, planets, and hands... all from her own imagination with no suggestions from mom.  It would be great if I had one to post right now... I have a big pile to scan but again there is - as mentioned at the beginning of this blog post -  that pesky time/energy issue in life lately.  She also loves to use and mis-use large words and I really need to try to make a list.  It would make for a really entertaining and memorable post.  Recently she told me her bangs were preventative and I therefore couldn't cut them.  She also likes to talk a lot about responsibilities and how being a mommy, big sister, etc is a "big responsibility."  She talks pretty much non-stop most days so my brain does get a little fried and I am sure I miss some great nuggets sometimes.  Many sentences start with one of the following: "Mommy, I need to tell you something...."  "Mommy are you listening?" "Mommy...mommy.....mommy......mommy......mommy"

And now mommy must go to bed.

Norman Mackenzie

Last Saturday, Katelynn was thrilled to get her first pet - a bright blue Betta fish that she named Norman Mackenzie.  Norman from one of her favorite books; Mackenzie because "it's such a beautiful name."  Her friends Bobby and Lindsay had both acquired similar fish a couple weeks prior.  Once mommy and daddy saw that they only required a $20 "Betta kit" and no fancy filtration systems, we were pretty easy to cajole into the purchase.

Norman Mackenzie died this morning, just 4 days after KK so proudly brought him home.

Last night I noticed that he wasn't looking so hot.  He was in a strange position within his plastic plant and did not swim to the top to get his food.  I convinced myself that fish sleep...  Then this morning I became more concerned as he was sitting all the way at the bottom of the tank.  Two hours later he was upside down.

Now the question became what to do?  My little girl has a pretty sensitive heart. As a mommy, I really wanted to just avoid this whole reality-of-death situation and forever protect her innocence.  I decided to leave Norman in his tank; she hadn't been paying too much attention to him and perhaps I could execute a switcheroo tomorrow when my babysitter is here.  However, tonight KK decided to check in on Norman.  A sweet little voice asked:  "Mommy, is he sick?"   Mommy's heart sank.  I told her the truth.

She seemed to be in shock, absorbing the whole situation and making sad little statements like "He was such a kind fish" and "He just swam around happily and was nice to me."  Eventually one big tear rolled down her cheek and lots of assurances followed that we would get a new fish just like him tomorrow.  After books/prayers/songs with both mommy and daddy, she was left with her own thoughts in her room.  Later she appeared in the kitchen, acting strangely.  When I pressed her a bit about what was wrong, she burst into tears and said "It's just that my fish died, mommy!"

Poor sweet girl.  Poor Norman.  RIP Norman. And may God protect my little girl's tender heart.... and please, please keep Norman Mackenzie II alive a little longer.

Tyler's Babyality

Years ago on this blog I had a post about Katelynn's "Babyality", i.e. her baby personality.  Little Tyler's babyality has really started to shine over the past couple of months.  He can be cranky like his big sister was as a baby, but he doesn't get inconsolable the way she did.  He likes to study people and makes adorable little furrowed-eyebrow expressions when doing so.  "TyTy" is constantly moving - flapping his arms, bouncing up and down.  He loves his big sis and squeals loudly at her various forms of entertainment.  He also loves his crib which has been wonderful for mommy.  Since learning to sleep through the night, he has not awakened in the middle of the night requesting attention ONCE.  No, not ONCE.  (Knock on wood.)  He also has never awakened too early... he is up around 7:00AM like clockwork and he will play in his crib for at least 30 minutes.  He pushes up on his little tummy and gives me a big grin from his crib as I walk out the door of his room.  He likes his pacifier for sleeping but rarely needs it during awake time.

He is a fabulous eater thus far, but extremely picky about liquids.  Only breastmilk for this little man.  Bottles are ok with him but only if warmed to 99.8 degrees.  He finds formula extremely offensive. This has made it challenging to put weight onto him! All those fruits, veggies and grains are not very high in calories.

I sure do love and treasure this sweet boy.  The first year is absolutely flying by, even more quickly than it did with KK.