Kaitlyn: Why Fias making noisy?
Gretchen: Olivia is very shy. I am not shy!
Kaitlyn, referring to Matthias: Want to pet it!
Kaitlyn, after trying to give Matthias a kiss on the mouth: Oh no, Fias eating Kaitlyn!
Me: Where's Kaitlyn?
Bryan: Still outside. I'll go get her.
*five minutes later*
Me: Where was she?
Bryan: Two houses down, yelling at the chickens for being chickens.
Kaitlyn: Bup, bup, bu-GAAAK!
Me: Good morning! How are you?
Kaitlyn: I four.
Me: You're four? You're two.
Kaitlyn: No, I not two, I four.
Me: You're silly.
Kaitlyn: Well, I need baby shark.
Fr: Do you have God in a box?
Olivia: Mom, God is not in a box, God is all over.
Me: You're right.
Gretchen: But Fr said that God is just in the box.
Me: Fr is being silly, God is everywhere.
Gretchen: Even in the box?
*Our normal priest has been reassigned, so we are currently going through a transition phase where we have different substitute priests each week.*
Gretchen, seeing a new priest: Why is that not God up there?
Me: Fr Mark is not God, he is just a priest. He is gone now, though, so we have a different priest today.
Gretchen: Is that one God?
Me: No, the priest is a person who prays to God with us. Fr Mark is a priest, that man is a priest, Fr Kent at Daddy's church is a priest, Opa is a priest. Priests are just people.
Gretchen: So peoples are priests.
Me: Yes.
Gretchen: ...Am I a priest?
Kaitlyn: I want some water. I want some juice, actually.
Gretchen: I don't know where I made that up from, but Hokya is an awesome name!
Me: Did you have a good nap?
Kaitlyn: Well, flowers in my nose.
30 August 2017
27 August 2017
August 13-27
I got tired of putting off my last post, so when I finished it on Monday I backdated it to Sunday. If you're someone who only checks on Sundays, go look for it. :)
Mom, Dad, and James were here for several days during all the craziness. I didn't really note that in my last post. We mostly just enjoyed spending time together.
Mom and I painted a tree on the wall. I've had an idea for a thankful tree since last November, but never screwed up enough courage to actually put paint on my wall. With mom around for moral support, I decided the tree was going to happen! We picked a general design, decided not to sketch it out first, and she called encouragement from the other room as I took a deep breath and made the first brush strokes of a trunk. Once the trunk was done, she came in to help with branches. We think it turned out quite well. :) The idea is that everyone writes things they are thankful for on construction paper cutouts and uses sticky tac to affix them to the tree. I have dies in the shape of leaves, flowers, butterflies, and snowflakes, so we can change the tree with the seasons.
Matthias had his one month appointment on August 15. He is 11 pounds, 13 ounces, and 23 inches long. The pediatrician also noticed a tight muscle in the left side of his neck, probably caused by being wedged in one position during the last month or so of the pregnancy due to his size. It's not overly severe, but it does cause him to favor looking left (something I had noticed). We've been told to stretch and massage it in an effort to help loosen that muscle so that his head doesn't flatten.
Kaitlyn says "pick my up" instead of "pick me up." That in and of itself is not particularly noteworthy, but as a result she also uses "pick my down" to be put down. :)
Kaitlyn words: Pack-CAT = backpack
A story that got left out of lastweek's month's post:
Justine and I were downstairs in the basement looking at tubs of clothes and toys. The big kids were playing, the babies were napping, and there were adults scattered throughout the house. When we came upstairs, Jacque met us at the door holding Matthias. Kaitlyn pushed her way outside and Jacque said, "Do you want to tell Mommy what you did?" Kaitlyn looked at me proudly. "I give Matthias a Aunt Jacque!" Apparently Kaitlyn had gone into Matthias's room and came out carrying him by the back of his clothes. Arms in front of her, she staggered out with the neck and bottom of his sleeper clenched in her fists. Jacque leapt to the rescue and saved him from being dropped on his face. As I resignedly removed the bassinet attachment from his pack and play, Jacque wondered if Matthias's neck would be okay. Mom and I reassured her that since he was face down his neck would be fine. Mom tried to figure out how Katilyn managed to get him face down since he sleeps on his back. I was able to help shed some light on the mystery: Kaitlyn can't actually reach into the center of the pack and play bassinet. She climbs partway up the side of the mesh, braces herself with her armpits, and then she can reach far enough to roll Matthias toward the side. Once she had rolled him, I assume she climbed down, reached inside, and used her tremendous wrist strength (?!) to lift him over the side. Needless to say, the bassinet has been relegated to the basement. Now the worst Kaitlyn can do is climb into the pack and play, land on top of Matthias, chuck him over the side, and then climb out, landing on him again. That's an improvement, right?
We watched the eclipse on Monday. The girls did not know it was coming until five minutes before I put the live feed on the television. We had a different live stream on the computer, just in case. :) I gave a brief explanation and then we watched. Lima was expecting 85% totality, which in reality just looks like an overcast day but with defined shadows. Just before the peak of the eclipse, it became an actual overcast day with rain, so we got to experience darkness anyway. :-P We did manage to make it outside with a pinhole projector before the clouds rolled in, but I don't think the girls really understood what was happening. I thought it was cool. For the next eclipse I need to have them use a pinhole projector on the uneclipsed sun first so that they know what normal looks like.
We saw a dragon at Lowe's. I was on a quest to get a piece of plexiglass cut to fit in our little IKEA bin table. With the plexiglass and a string of stick on LED lights, it can be a light table as well as a regular table! But I digress. Lowe's has realized that Halloween is a mere two months (and one week) away, so they have their giant blow-up decorations prominently displayed. I confess, however, that I would not have noticed the dragon, or perhaps any of the decorations, had all three girls not started pointing and jabbering about a dragon. (Side note: In my defense, the dragon itself was suspended from the ceiling, but still... I wonder how much else I walk by without noticing each day.) I looked up and, lo and behold, a 9-foot black dragon with moving wings, glowing eyes, and pretend fire coming out of his mouth was looming over us. Such excitement has not been seen at Lowe's since the day Olivia discovered the chandelier section. We took care of the plexiglass and then headed back to the entrance to admire decorations for a minute or twenty. They also had a pirate ship, a monster with spinning eyes, some fancy lights, pumpkins, skeletons, and two spooky trees. I eventually called a halt to the decoration admiration and we bid a sad farewell to the dragon.
Kaitlyn knows some of her colors. Blue, red, white, and orange are solid. Green, yellow, and purple less so. She has also conquered screw on tops, as is evidenced in one of the below pictures. This is not new, I just haven't ever remembered to mention it.
Matthias is doing things! Well, only kind of. He occasionally makes a sound that is not one of distress, which is quite exciting. Of more note, at least as far as his mother is concerned, he's sleeping fantastically. He's been getting at least eight hours each night for two weeks now and as of this writing had four nights in a row where he went to bed between 8 and 9 and didn't get up until 7:30. This boy knows how to win friends and influence mothers.
Pictures:
Mom, Dad, and James were here for several days during all the craziness. I didn't really note that in my last post. We mostly just enjoyed spending time together.
Mom and I painted a tree on the wall. I've had an idea for a thankful tree since last November, but never screwed up enough courage to actually put paint on my wall. With mom around for moral support, I decided the tree was going to happen! We picked a general design, decided not to sketch it out first, and she called encouragement from the other room as I took a deep breath and made the first brush strokes of a trunk. Once the trunk was done, she came in to help with branches. We think it turned out quite well. :) The idea is that everyone writes things they are thankful for on construction paper cutouts and uses sticky tac to affix them to the tree. I have dies in the shape of leaves, flowers, butterflies, and snowflakes, so we can change the tree with the seasons.
Matthias had his one month appointment on August 15. He is 11 pounds, 13 ounces, and 23 inches long. The pediatrician also noticed a tight muscle in the left side of his neck, probably caused by being wedged in one position during the last month or so of the pregnancy due to his size. It's not overly severe, but it does cause him to favor looking left (something I had noticed). We've been told to stretch and massage it in an effort to help loosen that muscle so that his head doesn't flatten.
Kaitlyn says "pick my up" instead of "pick me up." That in and of itself is not particularly noteworthy, but as a result she also uses "pick my down" to be put down. :)
Kaitlyn words: Pack-CAT = backpack
A story that got left out of last
Justine and I were downstairs in the basement looking at tubs of clothes and toys. The big kids were playing, the babies were napping, and there were adults scattered throughout the house. When we came upstairs, Jacque met us at the door holding Matthias. Kaitlyn pushed her way outside and Jacque said, "Do you want to tell Mommy what you did?" Kaitlyn looked at me proudly. "I give Matthias a Aunt Jacque!" Apparently Kaitlyn had gone into Matthias's room and came out carrying him by the back of his clothes. Arms in front of her, she staggered out with the neck and bottom of his sleeper clenched in her fists. Jacque leapt to the rescue and saved him from being dropped on his face. As I resignedly removed the bassinet attachment from his pack and play, Jacque wondered if Matthias's neck would be okay. Mom and I reassured her that since he was face down his neck would be fine. Mom tried to figure out how Katilyn managed to get him face down since he sleeps on his back. I was able to help shed some light on the mystery: Kaitlyn can't actually reach into the center of the pack and play bassinet. She climbs partway up the side of the mesh, braces herself with her armpits, and then she can reach far enough to roll Matthias toward the side. Once she had rolled him, I assume she climbed down, reached inside, and used her tremendous wrist strength (?!) to lift him over the side. Needless to say, the bassinet has been relegated to the basement. Now the worst Kaitlyn can do is climb into the pack and play, land on top of Matthias, chuck him over the side, and then climb out, landing on him again. That's an improvement, right?
We watched the eclipse on Monday. The girls did not know it was coming until five minutes before I put the live feed on the television. We had a different live stream on the computer, just in case. :) I gave a brief explanation and then we watched. Lima was expecting 85% totality, which in reality just looks like an overcast day but with defined shadows. Just before the peak of the eclipse, it became an actual overcast day with rain, so we got to experience darkness anyway. :-P We did manage to make it outside with a pinhole projector before the clouds rolled in, but I don't think the girls really understood what was happening. I thought it was cool. For the next eclipse I need to have them use a pinhole projector on the uneclipsed sun first so that they know what normal looks like.
We saw a dragon at Lowe's. I was on a quest to get a piece of plexiglass cut to fit in our little IKEA bin table. With the plexiglass and a string of stick on LED lights, it can be a light table as well as a regular table! But I digress. Lowe's has realized that Halloween is a mere two months (and one week) away, so they have their giant blow-up decorations prominently displayed. I confess, however, that I would not have noticed the dragon, or perhaps any of the decorations, had all three girls not started pointing and jabbering about a dragon. (Side note: In my defense, the dragon itself was suspended from the ceiling, but still... I wonder how much else I walk by without noticing each day.) I looked up and, lo and behold, a 9-foot black dragon with moving wings, glowing eyes, and pretend fire coming out of his mouth was looming over us. Such excitement has not been seen at Lowe's since the day Olivia discovered the chandelier section. We took care of the plexiglass and then headed back to the entrance to admire decorations for a minute or twenty. They also had a pirate ship, a monster with spinning eyes, some fancy lights, pumpkins, skeletons, and two spooky trees. I eventually called a halt to the decoration admiration and we bid a sad farewell to the dragon.
Kaitlyn knows some of her colors. Blue, red, white, and orange are solid. Green, yellow, and purple less so. She has also conquered screw on tops, as is evidenced in one of the below pictures. This is not new, I just haven't ever remembered to mention it.
Matthias is doing things! Well, only kind of. He occasionally makes a sound that is not one of distress, which is quite exciting. Of more note, at least as far as his mother is concerned, he's sleeping fantastically. He's been getting at least eight hours each night for two weeks now and as of this writing had four nights in a row where he went to bed between 8 and 9 and didn't get up until 7:30. This boy knows how to win friends and influence mothers.
Pictures:
16 August 2017
Bonus Post: Old Pictures I Found
I happened upon these pictures from 2010.
Johannah and James, Easter 2010:
Johannah and Josef, Easter 2010:
Bryan and Johannah, Christmas 2010:
And one even older picture (2006?) that mom sent me:
13 August 2017
July 16-August 13
A lot has happened since my last post. Here is the overview, in no particular order.
The Matthias post is up. It's dated July 11, so you might have to scroll a bit to find it unless you use the link.
Gretchen does not accept "hmm" as a response. If she says "Mommy," she requires art the very least a "What?" in response, and prefers a complete "What do you need, Gretchen?"
Matthias had an appointment on July 20. He's back up past his birth weight, coming in at 9 pounds and 7.5 ounces. He also got a little longer, measuring 21.5 inches. Everything else looked good, and the doctor was very excited that the girls have a brother.
Kaitlyn is suddenly terrified of the chickens that live nearby. She used to love watching them, but then one day she came running around the corner of the garage, a look of terror on her face, shouting about how the chickens were going to get her. Ever since then she has been worried about the chickens chasing her, even when there are no chickens visible.
A common phrase out of Kaitlyn's mouth these days is "I can't do it, I too little." She also likes to yell, "No! Don't ever, ever tell me!" I guess those are better than her phrase of choice a few weeks ago, which was "No, Mommy, I won't do it."
We went to camp during the last week of July. Since it was placed conveniently close to us, we drove in each day rather than staying in the cabins. The plan was to put the kids down to sleep in the Bossard cabin and then transfer them at night. After the first night when the girls and their cousins kept each other awake way too late, Bryan decided it would be a better plan to employ his mother as a babysitter. Each day when the girls got crabby (usually around naptime), Bryan would pack them up and drive them to his parents' house, coming back in time for dinner. We were then able to enjoy games and conversations with all the relatives unencumbered by whiny children. Instead of heading north to our own house to sleep, we went south. It worked so well that Bryan wants to know how often we can host camp and put it near our house without arousing suspicions.
Matthias and Dorothea were baptized on Saturday, July 29. Dad did the baptizing at St. Stephen during a baptismal liturgy. Everything went well. My favorite part was during the actual dunking of the babies: Matthias was first and was calm while we unwrapped him from his blanket and took off his diaper. When the water splashed on his head, he started crying. Dorothea must have been paying attention, because she started crying as soon as her blanket was removed. It's like she knew that she would be suffering the same fate as her cousin. :) We had about 80 people come over to our house afterwards. There was sufficient food (a minor concern, since Bryan didn't believe us when we told him how much to buy the day before; we sent him back for more). People visited through the afternoon, and most were gone by dinnertime. My family stayed around for a few more days, trickling away over the next week.
The day after the baptisms was the parish feast day and picnic. It also happened to be Fr. Mark's last day, so everything was a bit crazier than usual. We brought camp and baptism leftovers to contribute to the potluck, and several of my siblings purchased things in the auction. Olivia also bought something, snagging a pretend pizza kit (with much prodding by Bryan, who made her do all her own bidding).
We have a dining room now. Carroll made us a new table, having it ready for our influx of people just before camp. We asked for it to comfortably seat 4 on the long sides and 2 on the short ones. It is wonderfully spacious and has plenty of room for serving dishes in the middle of the table. Bryan and I went out an bought a light to put in our new dining room. Luckily, all the wiring was already done. He hung it up in the middle of the room on Monday, mom and I rearranged the furniture that evening, and then the night before the baptism he used the chain to secure the light to a hook over the center of the dining room table. It looks quite nice, and I enjoy having a more open space in front of the back door. This past week I was able to fill in the cracks and knots with wood filler (to keep crumbs out), and we plan to add a few layers of semi-gloss (on top of the already existing satin finish) now that the wood filler is done. The next dining room related project is to get chairs and benches since we sent our old ones to join the old table at the Bossard house.
Olivia had a birthday on August 3. She's six now, and seems very old. As is the custom in my family, she received a watch for her sixth birthday. Pink with princesses, the watch is an exciting accessory above and beyond its ability to tell time. She is also interested in the time telling capabilities. She is also the proud owner of several new books, some of which she can halfway read herself.
Our dishwasher decided to stop cleaning dishes right before camp. After things calmed down a bit, we thought about buying a new one, but decided to see if we could fix it first. I used some lime away, baking soda, good detergent (rather than store brand), and several empty washes to bandage up our dishwasher enough that it cleans adequately if it is not loaded too full. We're hoping it will limp along for a few more months before it finally quits on us.
Our van has been leaking power steering fluid and (we suspected) coolant. I was able to take it in to the shop last Thursday and all of its leaks have been stopped. It is much more pleasant to drive now, and we're glad to not have to worry about the engine smoking anymore.
Poor Kaitlyn is more mosquito bite than little girl. Part of her problem is that she likes to be in the baby swing outside. She climbs in and closes the tray and then can't get out. A few times I've found her napping in there, a veritable mosquito buffet.
Pictures:
The Matthias post is up. It's dated July 11, so you might have to scroll a bit to find it unless you use the link.
Gretchen does not accept "hmm" as a response. If she says "Mommy," she requires art the very least a "What?" in response, and prefers a complete "What do you need, Gretchen?"
Matthias had an appointment on July 20. He's back up past his birth weight, coming in at 9 pounds and 7.5 ounces. He also got a little longer, measuring 21.5 inches. Everything else looked good, and the doctor was very excited that the girls have a brother.
Kaitlyn is suddenly terrified of the chickens that live nearby. She used to love watching them, but then one day she came running around the corner of the garage, a look of terror on her face, shouting about how the chickens were going to get her. Ever since then she has been worried about the chickens chasing her, even when there are no chickens visible.
A common phrase out of Kaitlyn's mouth these days is "I can't do it, I too little." She also likes to yell, "No! Don't ever, ever tell me!" I guess those are better than her phrase of choice a few weeks ago, which was "No, Mommy, I won't do it."
We went to camp during the last week of July. Since it was placed conveniently close to us, we drove in each day rather than staying in the cabins. The plan was to put the kids down to sleep in the Bossard cabin and then transfer them at night. After the first night when the girls and their cousins kept each other awake way too late, Bryan decided it would be a better plan to employ his mother as a babysitter. Each day when the girls got crabby (usually around naptime), Bryan would pack them up and drive them to his parents' house, coming back in time for dinner. We were then able to enjoy games and conversations with all the relatives unencumbered by whiny children. Instead of heading north to our own house to sleep, we went south. It worked so well that Bryan wants to know how often we can host camp and put it near our house without arousing suspicions.
Matthias and Dorothea were baptized on Saturday, July 29. Dad did the baptizing at St. Stephen during a baptismal liturgy. Everything went well. My favorite part was during the actual dunking of the babies: Matthias was first and was calm while we unwrapped him from his blanket and took off his diaper. When the water splashed on his head, he started crying. Dorothea must have been paying attention, because she started crying as soon as her blanket was removed. It's like she knew that she would be suffering the same fate as her cousin. :) We had about 80 people come over to our house afterwards. There was sufficient food (a minor concern, since Bryan didn't believe us when we told him how much to buy the day before; we sent him back for more). People visited through the afternoon, and most were gone by dinnertime. My family stayed around for a few more days, trickling away over the next week.
The day after the baptisms was the parish feast day and picnic. It also happened to be Fr. Mark's last day, so everything was a bit crazier than usual. We brought camp and baptism leftovers to contribute to the potluck, and several of my siblings purchased things in the auction. Olivia also bought something, snagging a pretend pizza kit (with much prodding by Bryan, who made her do all her own bidding).
We have a dining room now. Carroll made us a new table, having it ready for our influx of people just before camp. We asked for it to comfortably seat 4 on the long sides and 2 on the short ones. It is wonderfully spacious and has plenty of room for serving dishes in the middle of the table. Bryan and I went out an bought a light to put in our new dining room. Luckily, all the wiring was already done. He hung it up in the middle of the room on Monday, mom and I rearranged the furniture that evening, and then the night before the baptism he used the chain to secure the light to a hook over the center of the dining room table. It looks quite nice, and I enjoy having a more open space in front of the back door. This past week I was able to fill in the cracks and knots with wood filler (to keep crumbs out), and we plan to add a few layers of semi-gloss (on top of the already existing satin finish) now that the wood filler is done. The next dining room related project is to get chairs and benches since we sent our old ones to join the old table at the Bossard house.
Olivia had a birthday on August 3. She's six now, and seems very old. As is the custom in my family, she received a watch for her sixth birthday. Pink with princesses, the watch is an exciting accessory above and beyond its ability to tell time. She is also interested in the time telling capabilities. She is also the proud owner of several new books, some of which she can halfway read herself.
Our dishwasher decided to stop cleaning dishes right before camp. After things calmed down a bit, we thought about buying a new one, but decided to see if we could fix it first. I used some lime away, baking soda, good detergent (rather than store brand), and several empty washes to bandage up our dishwasher enough that it cleans adequately if it is not loaded too full. We're hoping it will limp along for a few more months before it finally quits on us.
Our van has been leaking power steering fluid and (we suspected) coolant. I was able to take it in to the shop last Thursday and all of its leaks have been stopped. It is much more pleasant to drive now, and we're glad to not have to worry about the engine smoking anymore.
Poor Kaitlyn is more mosquito bite than little girl. Part of her problem is that she likes to be in the baby swing outside. She climbs in and closes the tray and then can't get out. A few times I've found her napping in there, a veritable mosquito buffet.
Pictures:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)