08 November 2015

November 1-8

We had some excitement this week: our friends the Hodges had a new baby and we were a third of their babysitting plan.  The baby made her big arrival on Monday night, so Isaiah stayed with us Monday through Wednesday before going back to his house.  Due to juggling of schedules and babysitting duties, Isaiah was not the only spare child running around the house.  When everything started on Monday, Presbytera (who happens to be the grandmother of all the extra children) brought the (two) Creighton boys and a couple pans of lasagna over while she went to pick up the (three) Hodges boys.  All five boys (and Presbytera) stayed for dinner and then she took two Hodges to stay with the Weys.  The Creighton boys were picked up by their mother an hour or so later, and I put Isaiah and the girls to bed.  (Are you following all of this?)  The next morning, I was already supposed to be watching the (two) Wey boys, and the Weys were two-thirds of the aforementioned babysitting plan, meaning I was possibly getting four extra kids (in addition to Isaiah) for the morning.  Presbytera took the youngest, though, so I only got two Weys and one more Hodges.  Four hours later, Elesha (Wey) came and picked up ALL the children that didn't belong to me and took them to the hospital to see the baby.  The girls and I ran out and got flu shots and then came back in time to receive Isaiah again.  Wednesday there were no extra extras, and we did our normal errands with a spare child, but otherwise uneventfully.  Isaiah went home just before dinner, but then we picked up the Wey boys and their father so that they could eat with us before Seekers' Group that night.  After Seekers', everyone went home and our family was back to its normal size.  :)

A note about the flu shots that I mentioned in the previous paragraph: Kaitlyn got a shot.  Gretchen got a mist, about which she was immensely relieved.  There was a moment of panic when the receptionist told us that mists were only for those three and up, but the nurse said that two year olds with no asthma symptoms could also receive the mist.  Panic is probably not the best word to use there.  Olivia was gleefully pointing out (repeatedly) that Gretchen had to get a shot, and Gretchen was resolutely insisting that she only wanted a mist, thank you very much.  Olivia's disappointment when Gretchen did not have to suffer through a shot (the way Olivia had earlier) was almost palpable.

I had orchestra this week, so Bryan was in charge of putting the girls to bed most nights.  I'm always hopeful that a week of Daddy doing bedtime will get Kaitlyn is used to putting herself to sleep and result in her sleeping through the night.  Friday night was a success in that department, so we'll see if it sticks.

Bryan likes to pick up the girls and ask for a big kiss and a big hug.  Olivia almost always starts negotiating, "no, a little kiss and a little hug."  Once the terms have been agreed upon, exactly one kiss and one hug are imparted.  Gretchen, on the other hand, will give Bryan a kiss and then proceed to kiss every identifiable part of his face, usually while naming them out loud.  Eyes, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, ears, forehead, chin, beard (the last two are always separate but get kissed in the same spot).

Kaitlyn has two more talents that I haven't mentioned yet: clapping her feet and waving.  Neither of these is new this week, but I keep forgetting about them.  I'm not sure if the foot clapping is just a baby thing or if it's a result of me absentmindedly patting her feet together when she sits on my lap.  She's quite good at it, though, and practices frequently.  The waving she does less as a wave and more to mean "I want that."  My mom discovered this the day we visited.  Mom was eating a sandwich and Kaitlyn was opening and closing her hand.  When mom waved back, Kaitlyn stopped.  When mom held out the sandwich, Kaitlyn began waving again.  I've since noticed Kaitlyn waving at toys and at the dinner table.

A unique thing I forgot last week:
Olivia and Gretchen use the word "ask" to mean both "ask" and "tell."  I'm going to ask Daddy that I got a shot today.

Pictures and Videos:

Videos (password BarhorstBrewed)
Kaitlyn and Daddy (old)
Leaf Pile

Six kids reading books on our couch:

Kaitlyn was so proud of her spoon that she didn't eat any food:


Took a picture of the dinosaur tails to show Justine and then Gretchen wanted a picture of her ponytail, too:

I found Kaitlyn clutching this "toy" when she woke up in the middle of the night on Thursday:

Gretchen is a ghost:

I told the older girls to sit down in front of  Kaitlyn to talk to her (instead of standing over her so that she had to crane her neck to see them) and this is what happened:

Olivia, in the depths of despair:

2 comments:

  1. I appreciate the picture, thanks! Did you redo Gretchen's hair for the second picture?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bahahaha Olivia in the depths of despair!

    ReplyDelete