The Frame

Last summer hubby went study abroad to finish his thesis for Building Science. He went to something like 10 countries in 8 weeks. They studied several different buildings to see how they were constructed, how they have lasted, what could have been done differently with technology, etc... Each student was given a specific building to research, and present to the class. The thesis each student wrote has been compiled, and will hopefully be published into a textbook other colleges could use. We are still waiting to hear back about publishing. However, I had the super fabulous opportunity to go and visit with hubby and see a few of the things that he had already seen. While we were in Italy, we picked up this print of the building hubby's thesis was on. He bartered on the side of the street for it (something I would never think of doing), and got it at, like, 75% of the price the guy originally told me. We have been holding onto it since then, not having a frame, or a good piece of wall to hang it up on. For Christmas, I asked for a frame for our print, and we found one (get this) at Big Lots. It had some other funky print in it, but I think we paid $14.99 for the frame (and print that we just removed). Now it has the place of honor on my wall. I love the colors. I love the frame. I love that I have been there. We are thinking about putting a select few pictures from the rest of hubby's travel (since he took, literally 1000 pictures {which I can't blame him for}) around it to fill up the rest of the wall space. I will let you know when we finish that little endeavor :)

The Results

Thanks to all who voted in my less than scientific experiment :) The results are in. Of the 13 total votes, the winner by a land slide was Chunkless. There were two lone souls out there who agreed with my Kari in wanting to find prizes as they ate. So, all you chunkless out there, I wouldn't say it is time to storm the yogurt companies with signs that say "Chunk-less is Better" yet. But be patient. The time is coming, my friends, the time is coming :) In an effort to be fair (because we, as parents, are always fair) here are just a few pictures of Kari.

This is one of the times she went "hunting" with her daddy. This was taken at 5 in the morning... Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do....

She's a natural on a horse. Don't tell hubby I said that. More feed for the fodder.

The Rite of Passage

I suppose it is a natural, in born thing to try to grow up. I mean, really, it is what all organic things do. And, for those organic things that understand, there are rites of passage that signify when we have reached that level. (Tell me, if you please, when you feel like you reached it, because I still don't). Anyway, of those rites for girls (only, please) would be stage of make up. The older you get, the more make up you wear to look like you aren't wearing any at all. Now, if that ain't an oxymoron, I dunno what is. However, in your younger years, you tend to forget that, and just settle for whatever your guardian will let you pass out of the door with. Needless to say, these little girls weren't leaving the house. And, they took it off nearly as soon as they put it on, because they wanted to hug daddy when he came home without fear of getting him dirty. But, the exercise in itself was time consuming and fun :)

Kari, the acter. Kaitlyn, the acted.

And Dylan. Hanging out with me as we watched.
Filling up the brush.

Should I be fearing for Kaitlyn's "Eye Box" (as she calls it? :)

Please note the "darkened eyebrows". I think Kari picked this up from her cousin,

who in turn picked up her makeup skills from the opera stage.

Look how talented. No mirror required.

Oh, lets not forget the lipstick.

This was my contribution to the fray. Finger nail jewelry.

Because I am the queen of the house.

And what did Dylan and I do while the girls were "make-up ing"?

He was a cute kid. As always.

The Trash

Saturday night the Dyl Man had a temp of 102. I know, I know, it isn't all that high. But, Tylenol had a very limited effect on it, and when the poor kid woke up pretty miserable at 11:30pm, I have to admit I was thinking about going to the ER. Not because it was necessarily ER worthy, but mostly because there aren't many other places open at midnight. He eventually settled down and ended up going back to sleep. He was up several times that night, as was I, giving Tylenol, taking temperatures, cuddling (at least he cuddles when he doesn't feel good... my other kids would rather writhe on the floor). Anyway, Sunday morning he slept in a bit, but woke up around 9:30 like nothing had happened. Granted, he was still not quite up to speed, and acted a bit more cuddly than usual, but no fever, and no other symptoms. The only thing I can think of as this point is that it was his tooth. Yes, at 10.5 months, he finally has a tooth! Looks like he is taking after his sister Kari, who didn't get one until 11 months. Funny thing is, we had just checked out of the Shriner hospital the day before. If she had only been a day faster, she would have still been on morphine. :) Anywho, there are some days when you just feel like throwing your kid in the trash.

And then you get a face like this

And you think, "Well, maybe not today."

Another cute story:

We are at the point of potty training with Kaitlyn that we ask, oh, every 30 minutes or so whether she needs to go to the potty. Today, before nap time, she went and sat down, and when I asked if she was done yet she said "I can't go potty mom. My bum isn't ready yet." Well, ok then.

The Second Child

This is an ode to my second child. She has so much personality, I just can't stand it sometimes. She talks in paragraphs (even though I don't always understand her) and she eats like a horse. I love her.

Ringlet. Couldn't resist.

She reminds me of the plays we used to do at Christmas. Mary :)

Pay no attention to the bruise. It happens sometimes.

Kari took this picture. Ain't it great?

The End.

The Comraderie

The girls have been really great lately. They wake up. Daddy give them their juice cups (that mommy often prepares after her 5 am feeding with Dylan). Then, they will cuddle up on the couch with a blanket and watch a Disney cartoon. Mommy, meanwhile, gets to sleep in for a bit more until Dylan wakes up. It is great! Kari keeps Kaitlyn in line (which is great, because I don't trust that girl any farther than I can throw her, which is quite far considering she is a pixie). The other day I came down to this. It was too cute to pass up. :)

The Flower

The girls are still eating breakfast, so I thought I would use the time productively. Today the lively breakfast conversation has been about yogurt flavors. Kari has "strawberry and raspberry and blueberry" flavored yogurt.
"No Kari, it is actually mixed berry flavor. "
"Yeah Kaitlyn. It is mixed up berry."
"Kaitlyn, what flavor do you have?"
Looking at the picture on the front of her yogurt "fwow-er."
"Actually Kaitlyn, I think yours is vanilla."
"No, is fwow- er".

Well, ok, who am I to argue? I bring this up to illustrate a difference in my girls. Kari is chunky. Kaitlyn is smooth. Kari likes to excavate the berries buried in her yogurt and announce each one to me as she chews it. "Look mom. This one is a raspberry because it is red." (When she is eating strawberry banana :) Kaitlyn, on the other hand, says she "chokes" when she finds chunks. So, I have put a small poll on the side of my blog, and I am interested, in a purely academical kinda way, how you prefer your yogurt? Chunky or chunk-less. And lest you fear you will be judged on your yogurt preferences, and thus be shunned for life, the poll is completely anonymous. :)

Me? I am a chunk-less kinda girl :)

The re-creation

Man, I am really on a roll with the "The" titles :)

Over Christmas break hubby and I got to see his family again. We decided since the last time the babies of the family got to see each other we took some cute pictures, we might try to re-create them. That way we could see how they had grown. Yeah. Remember these?

Cute baby Karley (barely 3 weeks old {I think}) and

her chunk of a cousin Dylan at almost 6 months old.

Will you check out the differences in their noggins. Not to mention the

chubby cheeks, lovable thighs and amounts of hair :) Fast forward 3 months, and here they are again. Karley has grown quite a bit. She looks like her mother :) Dylan was so interested in his little cousin he wouldn't leave her alone. Poor Karley, so pleasant and accepting didn't know what to do when her hair was pulled.... Or her eye was poked..... Or she was almost rolled upon. So, the photo opp wasn't the best opp in the world. I'll admit it. But, they are still cute babies, even if there is 12 lbs, 5 months, and a small little gender difference :)

The Worm

Dylan has hit the big 9 months. We had his check up and he got a bill of clean health. He now waves, claps, and has started pulling up on things. I love that he is still young enough that when he lays on his back (which is few and far in between now) he still pulls his legs up and plays with his feet together. He is a little monkey :)

He is my best cuddler. He will generally sit on your lap for quite a while before getting wiggly and needing to be down.

I love that he is also a face cuddler. When he first wakes up, puts his cheek on my cheek and just stays that way for a few minutes. The other night, at our 4:30 am feeding, I think he was kinda deliriously tired because he put his forehead on my forehead and just patted my cheeks and pulled at my mouth for a bit. I love that he is so cuddly!He is also completely different than the girls. He always goes for the same bus toy and blocks when they are on the floor.

He has already grown out of his infant car seat, and has been wearing 12 month clothes since before Thanksgiving. Yes, he is a tank. Weighing in at 22 lbs 8 oz and 29 in tall, he is a big kid. However, he has actually slowed down a bit. He is only in the 75th percentiles now. (For those of you who don't speak pediatrician-ese, that means he is bigger than 75 percent of boys his age).

He is also my best nurser. He is fast, but not easily distracted, and he still seems to enjoy it. Kaitlyn, by this time, was too easily caught up in all the things around her, and attempted several times to take my nipple off as she turned her head to look at something.

Also, he is a break dancer in his spare time. He has gone from this:

To full on hands and knees crawling (most of the time).

I do love that chunk of love and I am super glad he is my boy :)

The Deer

*WARNING: There is one picture that may not be for the very faint of hear. And when I say very, I mean very, because the picture is really not that bad. But I figured I would warn you in case I get nasty comments afterwards.* :)

Last year hubby shot a deer during season, and we have been eating it ever since. I don't think (I honestly don't remember) if Kari was with him (I am pretty sure she wasn't. Yes... I am sure. Well, pretty sure....). (They have been "hunting" together before {translation: sitting in the deer house and watching deer}) This year she said she wanted to go again. Hubby and I had already talked about it, and had basically decided that although I wouldn't mind a deer, maybe later in the season (so I would have time to clean out my freezer). Hubby hadn't even really planned on going hunting, but Kari asked, and he can't say no. :) She actually fell asleep in the deer house, and hubby woke her up when the deer came into the field. She immediately asked "Which one are you going to shoot?" Hubby tried to explain a little about the loud gun, how the deer would die, how the babies wouldn't have a mommy anymore, but how we would eat it because we didn't want to waste it, and Kari replied "So, which one you gonna shoot?" Apparently, this went on through several deer coming and going, because hubby still didn't really want to. But he finally gave in after several minutes and ended up shooting one. The noise or the deer didn't bother Kari at all, but she wouldn't go into the dark to go get it, so hubby brought her back (he didn't want to leave her in the truck, and she wouldn't follow him into the dark) and then went back to get the deer. When he brought it back, Kari stayed outside and watched for a majority of the skinning and quartering, and has been looking forward to a venison dinner.

The mighty hunters.

We came out to visit. Its a shame you can't see the front of his hat. It has a frog on it :)

Never mind... I cropped my less that good face out, but his cute little hat is just classic :)

Kaitlyn even came out to visit, and was unhappy that we went back inside.

Anytime you are in the neighborhood, feel free to stop by for a venison dinner :)

The Cake

Ah, the cake. This, also, has my little girl been planning for nearly a year. Last year, she had a strawberry cake, with strawberry icing, and strawberries on top. This year was relatively the same thing, with the only variance being blueberries. I was not really able to make the cake or icing taste like blueberries, but they were at least blue.

I made and decorated it while keeping her out of the kitchen.

Then, we let her preview it before the festivities began. I think she likes it...

Oops...

How industrious she is... Lets not let anything go to waste :)

How old are you Kari?

Dylan hanging out with Uncle Donnie.

Us getting ready to sing to her. Note the decorations please.

She decided upon them and made them herself. She is so cute sometimes! :)

Ready set blow! Truth be told, she had already blown them out once, but I wanted a picture (not a video), so we lit them and she did it again. Posterity will be forever grateful :)

Shovelling it in ;) See, the inside of the cake is blue.... Ish.

Kaitlyn enjoyed the festivities, whether they were for Kari or not....

I also love this picture because she has such beautiful eyelashes.... Jealous!

And when mom and dad aren't looking, the mouse will play. Or something like that. Happy Birthday Kari! You are officially old...

Wait. That means I am getting older. That's not fair {Whine whine whine}