"Somewhere in her youth, or childhood...

I must have done something good..."

Kari just did something so cute that I couldn't wait even until they were in bed in an hour to put it up. So, I am typing while they are in the bathtub. (I love laptops and wireless)

We were eating dinner and talking about moving. She is old enough to remember the last move, but I don't think any of the ones before that. Anywho,
Kari said "When I grow up, I can move away into a big house."
I said, "You are probably right. You will grow up, and move away, and Daddy and I will have to come and visit."
And this is where it gets so sweet. She actually started crying and said something to the effect of "No, you should stay with me." I kinda didn't understand, so I said, "Ok, you don't have to move away, you can just stay and live with Mommy and Daddy." Well, after a bit of untangling, I finally understood her when she said, "I will move away into a big Kari house, and you and Daddy and Kaitlyn and my baby brother can move all your things and stay with me. I will have a big Kari house for all your stuff when you move."

Oh My Gosh!!! It just warms my heart that even at the age of 4, she loves her family enough, yet wants to be independent enough, that she wants to have a house big enough for not only her mommy and daddy, but for her sister and brother as well. It makes everything she has ever said or did, as well as will say or do worth it :) Such a sweet little love!


PS- Brownie points if you can guess where the title was stolen from...

Hi...

Kaitlyn decided not to take a second nap today. Instead, she stayed in her bed (thankfully not figuring out how to climb out) talking, screaming, playing, etc until I opened the door. At which point, she said "Hi." It was pretty cute. I said we needed to go get Kari up from her nap (I didn't want her to sleep too late, thus not being able to go back to sleep tonight), so Kaitlyn proceeded to open Kari's door, climb into her toddler bed with her, and rub her leg. (How precious) When Kari looked over at her, she said, "Hi, Kiki." So, in point we have two things, one... she knows when to say hi and use it to its most cuteness advantage. Two... It looks as if we have an official name/nickname for Kari: Kiki. Pretty cute :)

The Sum of it All

What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? I got to go to Spain, Italy, and France with my hubby.

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Didn't really do any... If there is something I want to work on, why wait until Jan 1? Besides, I think I am pretty perfect {wink wink}

Did anyone close to you give birth? My sister. And few others.

Did anyone close to you die? My great grandmother.

What traveling did you do? To start with, we went back and forth to southern Alabama several times. We also drove up to VA twice I think... We also drove out to California and stayed for several weeks while the hubby was gone. And, as I mentioned before, I got to go on a European cruise :)

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? Um, money?!?!

What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Um....

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Probably moving 3 times in 4 months, living in a hotel for 6 weeks, and surviving leaving both of my children for a week of fun filled days and blissful nights in the Mediterranean Sea.

What was your biggest failure? Failure is a strong word... There were some things that didn't happen, or didn't happen the way I wanted, but, such is life, eh?

Did you suffer illness or injury? Why yes, as a matter of fact I had my first sinus infection, got some wonderful bug over Thanksgiving, and had morning sickness for about 16 weeks. How about you?

What was the best thing you bought? Uh... groceries?

Whose behavior merited celebration? Hubby did an excellent job in school and graduated Magna Cume Laude!!!

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I'm sure somebodies did, but I doubt it was important.

Where did most of your money go? Probably to walmart... ;)

What did you get really, really, really excited about? Finding out we were pregnant, and almost buying another house (which didn't happen)

Compared to this time last year, are you: Much happier, richer, nicer? Yes, Sure, and Why not?

What do you wish you'd done more of? Better time with the kids.

What do you wish you'd done less of? Wasting time on stupid stuff.

How did you spend Christmas? Sweating it out with the inlaws in Alabamy.

Did you fall in love in 2008? Um, not really... I'm already there :)

What was your favorite TV program? Not really impressed with TV right now.

What was the best book you read this year? For the first time, I guess the Twilight series, but really, I enjoy my other favorite series over and over again by Diana Gabaldon.

What was your greatest musical discovery? Uh...

What did you want and get? A fabulous European vacation.

What was your favorite film of this year? I did like Black Night, but mostly I just watched older ones... so I guess not of this year.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 26, and you know I don't even remember. I am sure it was great though :)

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If we had lived closer to family.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Probably whatever came out of the suitcase for most of it.

What kept you sane? Is there another option?

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Fancy? Where did that word come from? Um, dunno...

What political issue stirred you the most? Politics? Whats that?

Who did you miss? My family and old friends.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008: It always happens for a reason, even if we don't see it at the time.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands." ?

Photo shoot

Grandma bought the girls Christmas Dresses and they were nice enough to let me take a few pictures after church. Kaitlyn was even accomidating :)

Sitting on the couch...




On the floor on tummies...


On backs...


This would be an awesomely cute picture if I could see Kaitlyn's face.


Break it up ;)


Cute huggers :)


Standing in front of the couch. Love that they are holding hands!


Kaitlyn did it first, and Kari followed.


Kari wanted to take a picture of her turkey...


This is the jewelry my mom made for the dresses. Cute, huh?


This is another picture of the table my mother got for the girls. It is technically a folding table, but it is low enough we can store it under the pool table without taking it down. As a result, the girl pull it out several times a day, want to eat every meal on it, and just generally have gotten lots of use out of it :)

I have a four year old?!?!

Four years ago today I was in the hosptial sleeping through the new year (just like I probably will this year :) Actually, Kari was born at 10:15 in the morning, but, I was tired :) So, today was a special day. Daddy started the celebration by bringing home a balloon when he got off work. The girls played with it until there was nothing left, but... it started out like this: Kari designed her own cake. She wanted a pink cake, the tallest she had ever seen, with pink frosting and a strawberry on top (And, just where am I supposed to find a strawberry in December?!?) Hubby helped frost it, but wouldn't let me take a picture of his domesticity. And, please, be kind in your thoughts and comments. This is our first attempt at a multi-tiered cake. This is Kari seeing her cake for the first time. We made her leave so we could finish it and surprise her.
We let her blow out the candles (already knowing what her wish would be) and then open presents...


This was her wish: an orange car to add to her "collection" In the middle of saying Play-Doh (a set from Nana) A Scrapbook kit from Aunt Kim Some Krabby Patties :) She was even nice enough to let her sister help :) This is the big girl booster seat she got (I asked her what it was, and she said she didn't know. Oh well...). Kaitlyn had to take a spin in it too. Daddy also got her a pool cue just her size :) After we put Kaitlyn to bed, we ate cake. I love the horror face as daddy cut it. Licking the spatula. And this is the big girl bedding Aunt Pickle gave her. "I'm a big kid now. Wee!"

Look who has enough hair :)

Over the Christmas break we tried a pony tail with Kaitlyn's hair, and it actually turned out kinda cute. Well, I tried pigtails today... Check out the results :) SO CUTE! I guess she doesn't mind me taking pictures of her. Hopefully she will warm up to the photographer too for her 18 month pictures :)




And, here is a picture of the table and chairs Grandma got them for Christmas. They ate pizza on it to break it in...

I need to complain for a second...

I picked the dog I picked (Peeka-Poo) because she generally is pretty cute, she was pretty easy to train, and, most importantly, she doesn't shed. They call her hair type "human hair", because it grows and grows and grows (like human hair... duh). It doesn't shed every day and most of the time, it is great. However, when it has grown enough (for Mollie, about 10-12 weeks) she starts to shed in large clumps. That is my cue to cut her hair. When we first bought her, we had her groomed for $35-40 a cut. Well, I found a pet clipper set at Wally world for $30 that can be used for 6-8 cuts, so... It was pretty much a no brainer. However, I have a new found appreciation for dog groomers. Mollie is pretty good, but she is a squirmer, and she really doesn't like it when I cut the hair on her feet or around her backside (trust me dog, it isn't very pleasant for me either). Anyway, about 4 times a year the dog and I aren't on very good terms. I always cut at least 2 nails with the clippers and end up with hair in my mouth, eyes, nose, etc. I would like to add, however, that I am getting better and faster at it. It still takes about an hour. After which I am covered in dog hair (don't ask me how it gets through my clothes bra etc onto my skin, but it always does) and frustrated. So, the first thing we do is head to the shower. Yes, "we", because I take her with me so she doesn't get little tiny hairs all over the house. Plus, if she is gonna get me all wet, I may as well take a shower too. I dropped my clothes off in the washer and went to turn the shower on. Surprise!!! It won't work. I guess the faucet is broken because all the rest of the water in the house still works. So, I need to take a shower in the other bathroom which is attached to Kaitlyn's room, who is currently taking a nap. Well, I can't wait to stop itching and I don't want to spread hair around the house, so I turn on the shower, at which point Kaitlyn immediately starts to scream. Well, sorry kiddo, but if you are in your bed, at least I know you aren't getting into trouble. Also, come to find out, the drain in that bathroom is clogged. We don't know this because we have only ever given the girls baths in that bathroom, and I never really paid attention to how fast the water drained out. I am guessing it is the hormones, because I usually have a longer fuse than that, but heaven help whomever gets in my way for the next hour or so until I calm down...

For those of you wondering

We are officially in our 3rd trimester. Actually, we are a week past according to WebMD. We hit that mark last Monday while we were on vacation, so... This time has definately gone quite a bit faster than last. And, other than sleeping issues, we are moving right along :)

More cuddling

Once again, left to their own devices, the girls must at least kinda love each other :) We were getting ready to go, loading the truck, putting in a new toilet, etc. So, we turned on the auto babysitter (i.e. cartoons) and the girls cuddled right up. Kaitlyn has only recently started to watch tv (I know... both a good and a bad thing), but I think she was really sitting still because it was nap time, or past it... I love that they can both fit into the same chair :)



And Kaitlyn, whats with the facial expression?

Christmas Day

These are pictures from Christmas day. Try not to pay attention to the outfits. They had cute Christmas pjs, but-go figure-they are winter pjs... So, when the weather turned warm (not unexpectedly, just unexpectedly warm) I was not prepared... I know, I know- Bad Mommy... Well, at least the t-shirts and panties match :)

The set up before the girls got into it :)


Kari opening her spongebob slippers



Daddy: the all powerful opener


Kari's Dora Jumprope


Kaitlyn sitting in her new Dora chair with her stool


Holding her Dora figurines


... and her toothbrush (I think)




Christmas Dinner around the table




Kaitlyn in the cowboy get up...




Uncle Donnie loves "A Christmas Story". If you have seen it, it will explain the last 2 pictures...