Away in a Manger

Tonight at church the girls sang their first duet together. Not being musically inclined myself whatsoever, I have a new appreciation for all the work that goes into preparing to sing. The girls had two weeks to learn all three verses of "Away in a Manger". Not being able to read the lyrics themselves, meant that we listened to the song on repeat at least 20 times per day. As you can imagine, we were all getting a bit tired of hearing the song. However, tonight when they sang it was all worth it. The girls did a great job and it was a priceless performance. Kaylee had all three verses memorized and Kianna had the first verse down, as well as a few random words from the last two verses. We had been practicing with our karaoke machine at home with me holding the microphone. When the girls would get too close to the microphone I would move it away from their mouth, but at church I obviously didn't have that much control over the microphone. Kianna had her mouth right on the microphone and was singing VERY loud for the first verse. I couldn't help but laugh. Kaylee did a great job singing the last two verses with Kianna offering up the occasional word she could remember really loud. For example, "NIGH", "HEAVEN", etc. We got it all on tape and if I can figure out how to post the video I will definitely be doing that. It is priceless...

Oh, but the show didn't end there. The preschool class ended by singing "Jingle Bells". I can sum up this performance in one word "Drama". Our girls were standing next to each other after having just finished "Away in a Manger". After reviewing the video it appears that Kianna was being a bit lovey with Kaylee. By this I mean that Kianna was standing really close to Kaylee with her arm around her. Well Kaylee, didn't want anything to do with the closeness. She was focused on singing "Jingle Bells". In an attempt to get Kianna away from her Kaylee threw a little elbow Kianna's way. To which, Kianna responded by swinging at Kaylee. Kaylee responded by no longer singing "Jingle Bells", crossing her arms, and crying. I felt so helpless in the audience not knowing what to do as I watched my kids fight on stage. They were definitely entertaining to say the least and we even have the video footage to prove it.

Our little artist

Kianna drew this picture of Trevor the other day. I LOVE it and just had to share it. I can't look at it without at least smiling. She just learned how to make eyes with pupils. Also, notice how she even made the hair a little thinner on top. (Kaylee wrote "Dad", not Kianna-just wanted to clarify that).

Trace is 10 Months Old

Trace has learned a lot this month. He learned how to clap his hands and is working on giving a high five. He likes to give me a high five, but I haven't seen him clap anyone else's hand yet. The perks of being a Mommy, I guess. Trace is cruising along furniture pretty rapidly and enjoys walking with his little push walker around the house. We predict he will be walking by Christmas. Time will tell if we are right. Trace discovered the stairs and enjoys climbing up them. He made it all the way to the top one time, but it is still quite a workout for his little legs. We have been working on "How big is Trace?" and having him raise his little arms above his head while we say "So big!" It is pretty cute when he does it, as he gets a HUGE smile on his face. It is still a bit inconsistent, but it is precious when he does it. It is fun seeing him interact and comprehend more and more.

Trace is quite the talker. He now says "ma ma ma" (which I kind of like) in addition to "ga ga ga". He seems to like hearing his own voice. Trace is starting to avoid the "no no's" more and more, which I am happy about. He continues to work on picking up finger food and using a sippy cup, both of which are still very hard for him to do. I have been working on switching him to table food, instead of baby food, but he isn't too interested. I'm sure it is tough with only two teeth and will come with time.

Trace is such a great baby. I know I've said it a hundred times, but he really is. People comment quite frequently about what a happy baby he is and how he is always smiling. It's true, he is, but I have found a few things he doesn't enjoy and that quickly get rid of his little smile. One being his car seat. Trace has recently decided he does not like being restrained and arches his back and stands making it as difficult as possible for me to get him buckled. Sounds like fun doesn't it? I'm sure he spends more time in there than he would like, as we have to pick up his sisters from two separate schools, but what can a Mommy do? His car seat protest is followed by little tears and big screams. Poor little guy. He also is not a big fan of getting his diaper changed or getting dressed. I guess he wants to be a streaker...

Birthday Parties

CousinsBryker enjoying his cupcake
Does anyone else have trouble getting a decent family picture? Apparently, Trevor and I were the only ones who could figure out where the camera was...
Tea Party
Karaoke/Dance party
Kaylee celebrated her 5th birthday with two parties: a family party and a friend party. She chose a Barbie Rapunzel theme for this year, because every birthday party needs a theme. Our girls choose a birthday theme usually months in advance. It is a BIG deal to them!

Both parties were fun. For Kaylee's family party she had lots of fun playing with her cousins and had about 30 people there to support her. For her friend party she had had six friends come over. We tried not to plan as many activities this year, as last year was a bit stressful with 11 kids and lots of activities. This year went much better. I'm sure it didn't hurt that the kids are all a year older and that I wasn't 7 months pregnant! For activities, we read the book "Barbie Rapunzel" to the kids and had a tea party using my nice china upon which we served raspberry tea and cupcakes. We attempted to have a Barbie play center, which maybe lasted 2 minutes before the kids ran into the playroom. They ended up just playing for awhile and then we had them put on some dress up clothes before breaking out the karaoke machine. We let them use the microphone and choose a song to sing. They were able to pick from a number of princess songs, the "Mary Poppins" Soundtrack, the "Annie" soundtrack, or "Jingle Bells". We weren't quite sure what to expect, since most of them are still too young to read the lyrics. They seemed to have fun with it though and the rest of the girls danced to the music when it wasn't their turn. We ended the party with a coloring center and presents. Now that all the presents are out of the boxes, it is tough to say what Kaylee's favorite gift is, as it seems to keep changing. However, Kianna feels like she hit the jackpot with all of the Polly Pocket stuff, especially the Polly Pocket pool. They have kept her entertained for hours. Ah, the benefits of being the little sister...

Our little girl is 5!!!!

Trevor surprised Kaylee with her first flower bouquet. She was really excited!

The Barbie Rapunzel cake topper I made for Kaylee's cake.

Five years ago, I lay in a hospital bed excited to have just given birth to my first child, not knowing what to expect. It has been so fun watching Kaylee grow and mature since then. Kaylee is such a sweet little girl with a great personality. She loves to laugh and be silly. She loves being tickled by Daddy. She loves to play games with her favorites currently being: Sorry, Blokus, Candy Land, and the Wii Go Diego Go game. She also enjoys playing hide-n-seek, even if it means hiding right in front of you or hiding in the same places over and over. Kaylee also enjoys playing with Barbies, Polly Pockets, baby dolls, watching movies ("Annie", "Mary Poppins", "Sleeping Beauty", Veggie Tales, and "Barbie Rapunzel" are her current favorites), reading books, and playing on the computer.

Kaylee loves to do crafts and loves to write words with her favorites being: Mom, Dad, Kaylee Cook, Kianna, Trace, dog, cat, and God. She absolutely loves to draw and color pictures. She is becoming quite the artist these days. I love it when she draws pictures of our family. The people are getting more and more realistic. She told me the other day, "Mommy, I didn't know how to draw you holding Trace so I just put him in your belly." Upon a close examination of her picture of me, there I saw little Trace right inside my belly. I thought that was pretty clever.

Kaylee is a very social little girl. She loves playing with her friends, of which she has many. She makes friends very easily. It isn't unusual for Kaylee to make a new friend when we go someplace. For example when we go to the park, she usually is running around with a new friend within the first few minutes. Kaylee is a very sweet little girl with a big heart. She is wonderful to Kianna and Trace. She loves them both dearly and is an excellent big sister. Her and Kianna play so nicely together (most of the time). They seem to make up new games all the time. I catch them reenacting scenes from "Little House on the Prairie" and "Annie". They are both really creative! Kaylee enjoys helping me keep an eye on Trace and keeping him away from all the "no no's". She also loves to help me in the kitchen whether it be baking, making toast, or making a sandwich. She has several chores which include: making her bed everyday, clearing her plate from the table, taking care of the glass recycling, and picking up her toys. She loves to help! She does a great job with most of them, although the latter one continues to be the biggest struggle for both she and her sister.

Kaylee is a smart little girl. We have recently found that she is very goal oriented. At preschool her teacher set 5 individual goals for her (and everyone in her class). Kaylee's goals include: learning to count by 10's, learning her address, learning her phone number, learning how to write/spell her middle name, and learning how to write #'s 1-10 correctly (she gets them backwards sometimes). Without much help from us, she has quickly achieved the first 3 goals and is well on her way to achieving the 4th goal. She is highly motivated to learn, which we are hoping continues. She is doing an awesome job with her reading lessons too. She has completed 55 out of 100 lessons in her book, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". Yesterday, she actually asked me if we could do a reading lesson instead of me telling her she needed to do a lesson. That was HUGE, as in the past we have had some whining associated with doing her lessons! The stories she currently reads during her lessons consist of about 10 sentences. After she finishes reading the story, she is asked several questions to make sure she comprehends what she is reading. It is pretty exciting watching her learn to read and seeing her interest grow. We are very proud of our little girl and the young lady she is becoming. We love you Kaylee!!!!

ADDENDUM: Lest you be fooled into thinking she is perfect, here are a few of her current struggles. Kaylee is currently dealing with being a bit sassy and talking back with attitude. This is relatively new for her, as is her comment, in regards to being caught doing something naughty, "I do it all the time when you aren't looking Mom". I appreciate her honesty, but am striving to teach her that even if I'm not looking, God is and He wants her to honor and obey her parents regardless. It is proving to be a tough lesson to teach. She is also struggling with selfishness, wanting things just her way. I'm sure this will be around for awhile, as I still struggle with my own selfishness and I'm much older than 5!

I have heard that with girls there is drama. I think the drama is just beginning. Even between Kaylee and Kianna there are hurt feelings over so and so "said they don't want to be my friend" or "she said she isn't my best friend anymore" or "she said she doesn't want to play with me anymore". This is also beginning between their friends. Kaylee recently came home from school sad because one of her friends told her she wasn't invited to her birthday party because she didn't have a cat and only people with cats were invited. The next day the issue was resolved and all was well. Oh my goodness, she is only 5, is this the drama we have to look forward to???

Keri's 10 Year College Reunion

We had such a fun weekend spent with good friends whom we don't get to see often enough. We met up with Sally and her family; Heather and her new son, Brennan; Jodi, who just announced that she is 12 weeks pregnant with their first baby; and Ericka and her family. It was so good seeing all of them and meeting some of their kids for the first time. Friday night we went out to dinner with Sally's family and then let the kids swim in the hotel pool before bed. That night us girls met up for dessert and some girl talk. The highlight of my evening was a comment made by Heather. She ran into her volleyball coach and when asked how things were going excitedly said "Yeah, things are going good. I just had a #2." Can I tell you how hard I laughed!!! Heather is always good for laugh or two!!!! Trevor got left in a dark hotel room with 3 kids who were supposed to be sleeping by the time I left. Unfortunately the girls were still wide awake and not wanting to be quiet so their little brother could fall asleep. Needless-to-say, the evening was not quite as fun for Trevor, but his sacrifice was much appreciated!

Saturday morning was the actual reunion breakfast where I had fun catching up with some old friends and hearing their testimonies. I was asked to share what God has been doing in my life over the past 10 years. I had such a fun time reflecting that I thought it was worth posting:

“The Top 5 Things I’ve Learned Since Becoming a Mother”:

1. Screaming at my kids to “Quit screaming” probably is not the most effective way to get my point across.
2. Never underestimate the power of a good hug and a band-aid in solving a crisis.
3. God loves our kids more than we ever could. God taught me this after the birth of our oldest daughter, Kaylee. I was becoming a bit OCD; obsessively checking on her while she was asleep in her crib. I would leave my daughter’s room and sometimes immediately go back in to make sure she was still breathing. I did this just in case the previous times, I hadn’t paid close enough attention. This process was getting me really stressed out. Then God gently reminded me that he loves my daughter more than I EVER could. So I needed to trust HIM to protect her little life. I did and the peace he filled me with was just what I needed.
4. My kids move the slowest when I need them to move the fastest. For example, I tell my kids “go get your shoes and coats on”. Sounds simple enough? Several minutes later, I enter the room and find them hiding in a closet without their shoes OR coats on. Need I tell you how irritated that makes me? I am constantly reminding myself that 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, and I’m paraphrasing, “Love is patient, love is kind…It is not easily angered”. With 3 young kids, I frequently find myself impatient, unkind, and easily angered. I am thankful that God continues to challenge me to love more perfectly. I am definitely a work in progress.
5. The moments I cherish the most out of each day are the ones spent interacting with my husband and kids. I tend to keep myself busy whether it be: doing the laundry, picking up toys, cooking dinner, volunteering, or sitting at the computer. However, God is teaching me that I need to be more like Mary in Luke 10. She was praised for taking the time to sit at Jesus’ feet, INSTEAD of helping her sister, Martha, with all the preparations. I need to pay LESS attention to all the things that keep me busy and MORE attention to the things that really matter, like my kids. I need to take more moments out of each day to read a book with them, color a picture with them, do a puzzle with them, or just be silly with them. Those are the memories I want them to have, NOT of a mommy who was too busy to play.

After the reunion, we got the kids some fast food and let them have a picnic at the park. The weather was amazing and actually reached 70 degrees I believe. The park was filled with leaves and our kids had a blast burying themselves in them. It was great having our kids all play together and get to know each other better.

We planned on spending Saturday night in the hotel. However, since Friday night didn't go so well, after a quick dip in the pool to cool off, we decided to head back to Sally's house to spend the night. She made a nice dinner for us. After the kids were in bed, the adults had fun playing a game of Acquire together. Trevor was thankful not to have spent another night tucked away in a dark hotel room with noisy kids and I was thankful to have more time to spend with my dear friends.

Halloween 2009

We had such a fun Halloween this year! On Thursday evening, we carved pumpkins. The girls were really into it and even helped clean out some of the "gunk" from inside the pumpkin. Kianna loved saying the word "gunk" and was repeating it over and over. It was really cute. Kianna of course wanted a mean face on her pumpkin and Kaylee wanted a heart and some stars. The difference in their personalities continues to amuse me! Daddy ended up making Kianna a mean dragon face, while I worked on Kaylee's pumpkin. While Trevor and I were busy carving, the girls had fun putting sticker faces on their little pumpkins. Trace was oblivious to all the pumpkin fun, as he took a much needed nap.

On Saturday evening, with costumes donned the kids had fun trick-or-treating around our neighborhood with their cousins, Bryker and Aliyah. The girls ran from house to house in excitement trying to get as much candy as possible. Trace was content getting pulled around the neighborhood in the wagon. The kids had quite the fan club come to see them all dressed up. Their fan club included Grandpa John and Aunt Bree, Uncle Patrick, Aunt Sam and Uncle Mike, Grandma Becki and Grandpa Bob, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne, and Great Grandma Carie (Grandma GG). Grandma GG had fun holding down our fort and handing out candy to the neighborhood kids while we took the kids trick-or-treating. The evening ended with pumpkin cake, hot apple cider, and a sugar high for the girls. What a great night with family!