Merry Christmas

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Tomas the Thinker

Pete just came into the room after putting Tomas to bed and shared a remarkable story with me.  He was snuggling with our little man when Tomas turned to Pete and said, "Daddy, I want you to be a Marine but I don't want you to go to wars."
"Well buddy, that's what we do!"
"But you haven't while I've been here."
"Actually I have buddy. I left when you were two months old and came back when you were as big as Kasey."
Tomas thought about that for a second and then gave Pete a huge 5 year old bear hug.  Now if that isn't a good reason to stay optimistic through this retirement roller coaster, then I don't know what is!

Picture: Tomas showing off his mysterious mark above his lip...

Fun with Gabi...it's all about the little things

So fun...this is our laughing face with our "Christmas presents".... In other words gabi drags out a giant gift bag filled with toys from the playroom and presents them to me as gifts.  Today I take a step back to appreciate the little things.  She is such a fun creative soul and truly a gift in our lives.  She recently had a Uti and when we went to the doctor he decided to be thorough and order an ultrasound because he didn't like someone so young having had multiple Utis. The ultrasound results came back yesterday and there is an abnormality in the upper part of her left kidney.  The doctor thinks it is most likely just a simple cyst, nothing to be worried about but he wants to be sure so he ordered a ct scan which will involve full sedation and contrast.  He thinks no reason for alarm but it still makes you stop to think and appreciate...

Similes by Gabi

"It's cold outside, like a monster's fuzz in winter."

Eerste Pannenkoek

Kasey's eerste pannenkoek.  Zoooooo lekker!  Hij wil alleen maar lekker met de rest mee

Beating Up Daddy is Fun!

Watch "Swordfighting Giggles" on YouTube
This is probably my favorite video of all time!

Such a Trooper!

Gabriella came down with what was clearly a Uti so I made N appointment for her to go to the doctor.  She was awesome!  She told the doctor what was wrong all on her own, described her level of pain and went through all the measuring and checking like a champ.  "Doctor my bum hurts when I pee.". When did she get so big?!

Crazy Kasey Giggles

Watch "Kasey Giggle Fest" on YouTube
Nobody can make him laugh quite like Tomas!

Dancing Threes

Watch "Dance" on YouTube
Gabriella is doing a new dance class and she absolutely loves it.  This is from a makeup class but gives an idea.  This dance is going to be performed Dec. 11 with the girls wrapped as presents.  Who's coming?

Margot Visits

We haven't seen Margot in a long time.  She was in Chicago this weekend and spent Sunday hanging out with us here in Round Lake.  The kids were super excited to hang out with her.  After naps were over we went on a walk at the Nippersink Preserve.  It was a beautiful fall day with lots to see and explore.  Margot and Tomas were the track erasers, with their erasers frequently serving a double purpose as Quidditch brooms.  Everyone's favorite discovery was the marshy seed pods that had fluffy floating seeds inside.  We had a grand time making them float through the air!  It was fun to enjoy some time outside.  We also enjoyed dinner and dessert together, rounding the night out with singing and snuggles before bed.  Hopefully it won't be too long before we see her again!

And.....

He's up!

Diapering Challenges...

Watch "Every time I change him he tries to escape....diaperless" on YouTube
Kasey likes to make diaper changing a challenging as possible.  He crawls away with a naked butt the second I let go of his feet.

Kasey Saying "Hi"

I realize this is really dark, but it was the first time Kasey was saying "Hi." He did this on Oct. 6 and it was too cute not to share.

Silly Sweet Boy

This is a video from back in September. Kasey just loves to be silly.

Tomas and Gabi Performing

Just after Gabi's third birthday, Tomas and Gabi used GAbi's piano stool as a performance stage. This may be the reason the stool did not last long at all....

Blackbird (from March)

Gabriella singing a Beatles classic to Kasey

Kindergarten Halloween

Monday, just so it actually felt like Halloween, Tomas; class had a Halloween party. The teacher was gracious enough to allow me to bring Gabi and Kasey so that I could attend. The kids had fund doing centers that were Halloween-themed and parents helped run the festivities. At the end of the party they had a race involving the whole chlass. Gabriella, of course, jumped right in and joined the five year olds in her Hermione costume. It was fun to see all of the kids in Tomas class at work. Everyone really seemed to work well together, and definitely had fun.

Halloween Fun

Trick or Treating in Round Lake was in the middle of the day on Sunday. I'm still pretty unsure how I feel about that whole idea, but we had a blast anyway! If fact, Halloween was multiple days of fun around here. On Friday evening, we joined Emily, a high school friend of mine, at the Church of Latter Day Saints for Halloween festivities. It was a blast. They had a ton of fun games set up and then had a parade and a quick round of trick-or-treating. The kids loved the chance to really try out there costumes for the first time. Tomas was in love with the Harry Potter Quidditch game they had set up, but Gabriella was not interested in trying it because Professor Snape made her much too nervous.
Saturday, we went trick-or-treating in downtown Grayslake. I'm so glad we checked this out, despite the insane throng of people that were there, making it a bit difficult to manage all three kids by myself (one scary moment of missing Tomas was all my nerves could handle). Grayslake is a very cute little town and I even picked up some delicious-looking mushrooms and pasta sauce at the farmer's market!
Sunday was trick or treating. As you can see, Marcie, Edie, and Oma and Bada joined us for the fun. As usual, the kids lasted pretty much once around the block and were done for the day. They had a blast handing out candy though, and got in lots of fun before the crazy rain hit. Everywhere we went, people loved our Harry Potter theme

Trick-or-Treating in Grayslake

Trick-or-Treating in Round Lake

Halloween, Part 1

This evening we headed to a night of fun with the Bleeker family at their church. We had a wonderful time playing Halloween games and trick-or-treating. I loved watching Harry Potter and Hermione make new friends and enjoy Halloween. Kasey was a trooper in his Hedwig costume. Tomorrow is another busy day, with trick or treating in Grayslake and a birthday party in the afternoon. Then, Sunday is trick or treating in our neighborhood. The fun never ends!

Monster Family

As Pete was dealing with snow in New York, I was sending the kids out to play in the backyard without jackets. Love it! The kids were being monsters in the backyard and Bada came to join us for dinner. This is the whole "monster family" having a whole lot of fun!!



Today was also my first PTO venture. I volunteered to help set up the book fair and had a lot of fun. Gabriella and Kasey both joined me. Gabriella was a model kid, sitting for a few hours reading the books. Kasey hung out in the stroller the entire time; such a great baby!!

Sleeping Angel

Poor kiddo is all congested...he has been asleep for 2 hours and didn't bidge when I walked in to check on him.
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Fall in Round Lake

We just got done with a bit of an Indian Summer. The weather has been gorgeous. I even had to get the summer clothes out again! Last week we noticed there were enough leaves to make a small pile and we headed outside for some fun...

Sensei Tomas?

This fall Tomas started karate. AFter many failed signups for activities at the community center, this one is a success. Last year we tried soccer, twice. Maybe we'll try again in a year or two, but right now it is clear that soccer is not a good fit. BAsed on Tomas' personality, we figured karate might be a good fit for him. It teaches discipline and body control, which are definite positives for him. He LOVES it so far. We found out today that his instructor, Brian Mendel, is part of the US team...maybe we'll see him in the olympics in London??
This week was the first week Tomas got to wear his gi (I probably misspelled that), belt and all. He was excited to wear it and told me earlier this week he now also wants to be a karate teacher when he grows up. He'll teach kids on Sundays and adults on Tuesdays.

Our Boys

 
Seriously, who wouldn't love these faces?

Pumpkin Patch

It is getting too close to Halloween and Gabriella has been begging for pumpkins, so this weekend we went to the pumpkin patch with Oma and Bada. We were dressed like it was August, and the place was a mad house, but luckily we were prepared for that so everyone had an absolute blast. I am so glad to have an amazing camera...there are definitely some keepers in the pictures!!

Squishy Face

Kasey LOVES to make this face in order to get us to laugh.

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Oortjes Met Groene Bloemetjes

Kasey is getting so big! Tonight he ate Oortjes Met Groene Bloemetjes with the rest of us (or as Pete would say...bloem bloemetjes)

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Is THIS how I'm supposed to do it?!

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kasey and momma.jpg

This past weekend I packed the kids up in the car after Tomas' karate class and we headed to Oma and Bada's house. It was a great break to have some adult company (Pete is in NY until Thanksgiving or so). I think this picture of Kasey and me (taken by my mom) is definitely one of my favorites to date. He is getting SO big!

Vorig weekend ben ik met de kinderen naar Oma en Bada's huis gegaan. Het was heerlijk om even wat volwassen gesprekken te hebben (Peter is tot eind November in New York). Deze foto heeft Mama genomen van Kasey en mij. Hij word zo snel groot! Hij was van de week al 10 maand!!!
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Tomas' First Day of Kindergarten

I think I was more nervous than Tomas was for his first day of kindergarten. The thing that made me most nervous was the bus. He has never ridden a bus, much less in an area we are still quite unfamiliar with. Tomas, however, was nothing but excited to start his new adventure. This qas quite a relief because last year was a tearful experience. Completely ready in his new Lego shoes and an outfit to match them, Tomas lined up his backpack with the big kids. When the bus came, he walked right on and didn't even look back. Yippeee!!!!
After he sat down, he peeked out the window and gave a brief wave. Our little guy is getting SO big!
Four hours later, he hopped off the bus, exclaiming, "I had a GREAT day!"
On his first day, he played Back to School Bingo and won a lollipop, he didn't have enough time to finish his snack because they had to go to music class, he sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in music class, he didn't lose a banana (the discipline system), and he didn't sit next to anyone on the bus.
We are excited to see what this year brings!

A New found Passion!

Tomas received a Harry Potter Lego set for his birthday. Since setting up his room in our new house, he and I have been working together to complete Hagrid's Hut. (I say working together, but he is so good at it I really just need to sit by and supervise). He absolutely loves it, is amazingly good at it and has already started asking for more sets. This is going to get expensive!!! (We'll never run out of bday and xmas presents though!)
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Kasey's first sandwich

I have been making Kasey's food all along and I LOVE it. It is so rewarding to make the purees; not to mention they taste SO much better than pre-made baby food, most of which is utterly disgusting most of the time. Lately he has been doing very well with chewing so I decided to try a sandwich..I mashed up a bit of banana and spread it on a piece of bread. I cut off the crust and sliced the bread into baby bite-size pieces. Kasey is doing a GREAT job eating it; he even manages to get the pieces of bread into his mouth all by himself. My little buddy is growing big FAST!
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A New Trick

Today Kasey figured out how to clap. He has been slapping his little thighs for weeks but today he started clapping. He is so proud of his happy little self!! Here he is clapping for Gabi and Tomas in the kiddie pool.
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Moving Adventures and Gezellig Jan en Betty op Visite

Home! Typically, in our roving Marine Corps family that means something different than many families I know. We've never really had the chance to put down roots so home for us, as a place, is Chicago, but really it is wherever we can be together. Now, Peter is retiring from the Marine Corps for good and we are finally going to have the chance to put down some roots. It's exciting and also quite a LOT of change at once. One adventure after another has presented itself on this fast journey of ours. The latest series was a hole in the moving truck and a complete break down of the Cursed Cadillac. Luckily a good attitude and lots of working together and patience have let us continue to move forward!

We are back in Chicagoland, hopefully for good. We do not yet have a place to live so we are cohabitating with my parents for now while we search high and low for an acceptable place to live.

Terwijl wij echt midden in de verhuizing zitten is er iets uniek en eigenlijk wel fantastisch gebeurt...Ome Jan en Tante Betty waren in Chicago. Wat ontsettend leuk. Sinds wij in 1985 naar Amerika verhuisden hebben zij nog niet de kans gehad om richting de VS te komen. Het was zo leuk om wat tijd met hun door te brengen. Alles was echt gezellig en de kinderen hebben ook de kans gehad om hun een beetje te leren kennen.
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Typical...

Tomas is hard at work and intensely focused. Gabriella is, typically, up to no good. I love watching these two together. Gabriella is so creative and full of spunk. Tomas is so smart, sweet and sometimes intensely in his own world!
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Celebrating

We went to dinner to celebrate. All the ladies have something to say about her royal cuteness...
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Gabriella's First Dance Recital

The Historic Paramount Theatre in Middletown, NY (sounds fancy, I know...if it weren't for the numerous condemned houses surrounding it...). The place was packed to the gills. Both the balcony and the orchestra were filled. Gabi's teachers said they had sold over 1100 tickets!!!
Gabriella had to be backstage at 4:30; it takes half an hour to get there; she was still napping at 3:45....oh oh. Between 3:45 and 4:05 I woke up Gabi, put her outfit on, put her hair in a bun, put blue eye shadow on her, woke up Kasey, and got everyone in the car. Whew!!!!
The backstage of the theatre was overflowing with girls in frilly outfits and silly makeup. Each girl had an assigned folding chair. One of the helpers and I put Gabi's bonnet on, I gave her a kiss on her glittery cheek and headed to the audience to watch the performance. I think she was so fascinated by all the activity that she truly could care less that I was leaving her alone with all those "strangers" (she sees strangers and points them out everywhere lately).
The lights went up on Gabriella and her class, followed by an adoring chorus of oohs and aaahs from the audience. The cute little Baby Chicks were stealing the show. Just after it started, we noticed something was off. Gabi wandered up to Miss Jackie shortly after she was supposed to start dancing. Miss Jackie brought her back to her spot. Then Gabi wandered off the stage entirely (each time the entire audience laughed uproariously...Gabi was unwittingly stealing the show). Gabriella came back on stage without a bonnet (Mommy fail for Bobby pinning the bonnet on her head too loosely). More laughs. At the end of their ridiculously adorable performance the parents came to the stage to pick up their Baby Chicks. When Pete lifted Gabriella onto his shoulders the whole theater cheered...
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Snot Mustaches and Snuggle Time

Right on time...Gabi arrived in our room as Pete was getting up for some snuggle time. I cherish those moments just to enjoy her. She is a fantastic snuggler!
It was Kasey's turn soon after. I walked into his room and he looked at me with a thick, and pretty gross snot mustache. That's the only way to describe the massive amounts of mucous that were just hanging out on his upper lip (not to mention the dried stuff on the rest of his face). Now that he's nursed and been aspirated (always fun), he's a happy, snuggly little guy! Gabriella loves her little brother so much and loves to do everything in her power to get him to smile.
As a true indicator that snuggly fun is over, Gabi takes one look at my sports bra and says, "Mommy are those your running boobies?"
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Memorial Day Weekend

Summer is here!!!! After a very mediocre and rainy spring we have been so so ready to get outside. This past week it finally became nice weather. Then yesterday the pool opened. I ran around the corner to WalMart (my favorite place...note the dripping sarcasm) to get swimming diapers for Kasey and they had matching American Flag shirts that say Summer 2011. I got one for all of us (or so I thought). There was one hanging in the men's section, so I was excited. I got home to have Pete tell me its a women's shirt. Oops...I didn't look at the sleeves. Didn't even think about that!! (Besides, it was the only one hanging in the men's section...I was just excited we'd all be able to match.). Now it looks like everyone except Pete will match.

We did end up at the pool yesterday. Everyone had a BLAST! The kids have water blasters and went to town shooting one another...Kasey slept through the first half of swimming fun. Then, when he woke up he was not sure about the chilly water...once he adjusted he was thrilled! Mostly he just lounged in his floaty, but he had fun splashing too! We will definitely miss this pool when we leave in a month. We brought lunch, had a blast, and Pete even got a job lead...who would've thought it would be such a wonderful day?

On a side note, Pete's retirement date of January 1 has officially been approved. This means I will move to the Chicago area with the kids this summer and Pete will join us for his terminal leave around October. It has been a stressful month coming to this decision and waiting for approval but now its great to have a sense of control and start to move forward.
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Sleepy Bliss

I am sad to say that, most nights, Kasey does not sleep through the night. I am usually up once or twice to nurse him and put him back to sleep. Granted, I am lucky that he does not require more from me during those times. Nonetheless, it does involve going to his room, getting him out of bed, nursing him, laying him back down, and then heading back to bed myself.
Some mornings and days, I am just completely exhausted by the cumulative effect of these nightly wakings and taking care of my other two munchkins. Then, on a night like tonight, when I go to check on Kasey before I head to bed, and he slept through the night last night, and he is sleeping so peacefully I can even turn on the light to take a picture, that I am overwhelmed by how blessed I am with such a beautiful, healthy little boy. Sleep will come...in about 20 years.
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Spring Break Aquarium Time

This week has been more than just a little bit stressful! Tomas' spring break has turned into one of turmoil and limbo for our family. We got news that we were going to be getting orders to Twentynine Palms, CA. Alright, so what we thought was one more year in NY was probably not going to be. Unfortunately we were not given a date because the federal government had yet to finally agree on a budget. Basically we started mentally preparing to leave here over the summer.
Then came Wednesday. We got our orders...wait for it...we have to be in CA by May 31?! It gets even better...we have to separate from here by May 1. No, these dates are not for 2012. They are for just a few days away. Sheer panic sets in...this is too short of notice for movers to come pack and move us. We'd have to do it ourselves in a week. Oh yes, and did I mention that the unit they are sending Pete to is already deployed to Afghanistan, so he will be headed there too when we get there?
That leaves us with many questions and so many options that need to be discussed and explored. Pete has put in a request to have the orders modified so we can move later, but we are still waiting to hear more (its not as if there's a time line to deal with or anything, right?!). When we get more information, we will be able to make a decision and move forward.
Needless to say, distraction was necessary. Wednesday, my good friend Heather and I got together and made rice krispie treat eggs for the kids and let them play together. Sharon joined us with her kiddos. The distraction of good company was much needed, and the kids always have a blast with their friends.
More distraction...Friday we took a trip to New York Aquarium with Sharon and Allison and Austin. We clown carred it up: five car seats, two strollers, two diaper bags, and two mommies in the car. It is still not spring...come ON now?! It was quite cold and windy, but luckily the aquarium is largely indoors and the kids could care less about the cold. It was quite a task to navigate the exhibits on this busy Good Friday, so it was teamwork for the mommies. Sharon manned the strollers and I manned the walking kiddos. We learned about jellyfish and their tentacles, and we hunted for Nemo, and stared at the sharks' teeth and the huge turtles swimming about. Of course, since the aquarium is right next to Coney Island and the boardwalk, we had to check out the beach while we were there. Two years ago our visit was a most unusually warm April day and Friday could not have been more opposite. It was downright blustery. Nonetheless, the kids frolicked in the sand and ran on the boardwalk...it was officially spring break!
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While we can...

How can we be under a winter storm watch?!?! 5-10 inches of snow by Friday...nature is just cruel this year!!
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Blackbird

Gabriella learned to sing "Blackbird" while watching Glee, her absolute favorite show. She is definitely my future performer. She has a knack for song lyrics and loves to show off her skills.

Hmmmmmmm...

The time has come to start Kasey on solid foods (ok, this particular meal was more liquid than solid). At his 4 month appointment, he was 19 pounds and 28 inches, with 2 teeth...the doctor said it's time. He's not outright rejecting the rice cereal with milk but he doesn't quite get what's happening yet either. He ate about half of this bowl and then I let him nurse. I think he actually sighed in relief when I took him out of the high chair.
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Beautiful Rest

This perfect sleeping face is a great reason to spend our afternoons at home as often as possible. He has been taking a nice solid nap for 2 hours now. The poor kid is constantly getting schlepped along to activities for the kids. He takes little rests in his car seat but there is just no replacement for a nice solid nap in the crib!
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Gabriella's Shenanigans

"Wow, you have your hands full!" This is something I hear frequently when I am out with my three kids. Gabriella certainly does her best to make my hands as full as possible. Today she danced her cute little bum off and, despite resignations about going in to dance, did her little performance with gusto and full adorable spunk. After dance, I had some errands to run, so I had brought a change of clothes with us to class. When I informed her that we were going to have to change before we could leave, she decided to strip down to her underwear in the middle of the waiting room. Some of the other moms didn't find it as funny as I did, I think.
Then it was time for lunch at Panera where Gabi immediately insisted upon a muffie to go with her meal. Hmmmmm. The bathroom break was equally eventful. Tomas was going potty when Gabriella decided she needed to do that as well. Off she went to the stall next to us, informing me that she did not need help..."I can do it all by myself." She soon informed me that she did indeed need some help. Small problem. She is in the stall without pants on, but she has locked the door. Will she be able to unlock the door before peeing on the floor/her shoes/whatever else? Whew...she did it! Once settled to go potty she said, "Can you please go away now?" Yes, Ma'm.
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Brothers

Tomas loves his baby brother so much that sometimes he can hardly contain his love (it can get a little wild and needs to be closely supervised). This moment is by far one of my favorites and shows the gentler side of his love.
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Crazy kids!

I just wanted to share one of my favorite pictures ever of Tomas and Gabriella. It was taken a few weeks ago by Oma and just makes me smile every time I see it.
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Special Time <3

Gabriella and Kasey both nap at the same time in the afternoon, but Tomas has outgrown his afternoon nap. On school days he has to have "rest time" upstairs for quiet activities, but on days like today, I get him all to myself...special Mommy and Tomas time! It is nicer outside today than we expected. First we went for a walk...doing silly walks first and then ending it off by holding hands and strolling along. Then, because Kasey and Gabi were still resting, Tomas got out his bike and we headed for the playground (the only route we can take without hitting a big hill). He practiced using his hand brakes and at the playground we climbed together and he even worked on tackling the hanging ladder. These are such precious times!
Now we're headed back home to play swords. "Mommy, let's go!"
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Oma op Visite!

Oma was de laatste week bij ons op visite voor haar Spring Break. Het was een heerlijke week voor iedereen. De kinderen vonden het echt heerlijk om haar hier te hebben. Tomas ging iedere dag entusiast met haar naar school, kletsend over van alles en nog wat! Het was zelfs nog even lekker buiten en wij zijn naar de speeltuin gegaan. Kasey heeft bijna nooit in de zon gezeten om dat dit zo'n strenge winter was. Hij is natuurlijk nog erg klein dus kan niet veel doen, maar lekker lachen en knuffelen is al lang genoeg! Ik was een paar dagen ziek dus wij konden lang niet zo veel doen als wij hadden gepland maar het was toch erg gezellig.
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Kasey's Growing Too Fast!

Kasey will be 4 months old on Saturday. Time just keeps flying by me before I feel like I can catch on for the ride! He is such a happy little baby. Sometimes I think he looks exactly like Tomas as a baby, but he is definitely his own little happy self too. This week he started to giggle. It is so unbelievably cute I just about want to eat him up! He is like Tomas also in that he is already getting teeth, although he seems to want to be even faster than his big brother. Earlier this week he sprouted two teeth on the bottom, and then today I got one heck of a shock...there is yet another tooth coming through on the top! No way, Jose! Alright, so now I have to so vigilant when he is nursing. No thanks to biting, kiddo!

Spring is starting to show its face around here, and thank goodness!!! Poor Kasey's skin has seen the sun fewer times than I can count on one hand. Yesterday we were outside briefly and it was so nice to feel the fresh air and see the sun. Tomorrow it is supposed to be nice yet again and I am thrilled to take a trip to the zoo with Oma and the kids. We will run around outside and see which animals might like to join us also.

Digital Scrapbooking...Yay!!

We had 2 snow days this week, and being trapped in the house led to some cabin fever and a bit of productivity. I have gotten into digital scrapbooking and love it. With three kids it is jsut too hard to do paper scrapping...I can't leave anything unfinished...the kids will go on a rampage, and there is no room in my house for my own craft space. This is such a great solution. I can go "shopping" for papers and embellishments. There are sites that charge for these but there are SO many available free, so those are the ones I use. Since I'm not doing anything commercial it's totally doable and fun! Here are the pages I did this week for our newest little man!

SOOO Behind!

This winter is a BEAST! We have not had a full week of school since before the holiday break. Every time we turn around there is another snow storm. Poor Kasey has his face covered almost all the time and has barely seen the sun! For his sake, spring can't come fast enough! At this rate, though, it will be May before the snow melts enough for us to be able to enjoy the playground. As I write this we are in the middle of yet another warning..I think it is ice this time. This winter it is just part of the deal. We'll manage...just no power outage please!! Chicago, on the other hand, is about to be SLAMMED with snow!! They are saying it might top the blizzard of '67. We'll see.
Kasey is doing so well. He interacts more and more every day. I notice that he clearly wants play time and relaxed time on his own (hard with Gabi and Tomas wanting to climb all over him). The swing is an absolute lifesaver!! Kasey loves the colors and patterns of the fish and finds the motion and sounds so soothing. It is an essential part of enabling me to get things done and manage the other two kids. We have had his 2 month appointment and he is my little baby giant. He was 15 lbs 8.5 oz and 25 in. Yesterday, I put his first 9 month onesie on him and bought size 3 diapers. Really?!?! Why is he in such a hurry? I am ridiculously in love with his smile and his happy nature.

Gabriella Dance Jan 3, 2011

Alright, I am proud of myself...after a bit of a pain in the butt, I figured out how to put effectively use and share videos from my blackberry on computer sites (such as facebook and blogger). When I email videos to myself, they do not play on my computer, nor will they upload from my computer to facebook. The solution, you ask? Email the video to YouTube as a mobile upload and share/blog from there. Yippee!!!!
In any case, this video is from Gabriella's dance class today and I couldn't be any prouder. When she first started dance, she barely participated in the weekly performances at the end of class. She was either two distracted by Mommy and other spectators, too busy playing with her skirt, or just lost. As you can see here, she has come such a long way. I just want to eat her up when I see this!