Missing Friends

I was with Makena as she was getting ready for her nap. While putting her pants on she said, "Mommy, I want Jessi ... and Jeremy ... and Aaron... and Austin (her cousins)... to come over after my nap." She stopped, looked up at me with her big brown eyes and said, "Please, Mommy." It's breaking my heart. I explain to her that they're too far away, but I wonder if she really understands.

We have a door full of Christmas photo cards taped onto it. The girls look at them every day and get excited to see photos of their new friends, but also mention those they miss from California. They seem to attach themselves quickly to the people they meet here and I wonder if they're trying to fill the void they're feeling in their hearts.

Santa Didn't Come to Our House

When Karis was an infant, Derek and I briefly talked about how we would approach Santa with the kids. We decided that we wouldn't indulge our kids with Santa but tell them that he is just a part of Christmas but it's all about Jesus' birthday... something like that. As Christmas approached this year, all of the kids shows on TV were about Santa Claus. I had a feeling that Karis was learning more about Santa than I would have liked. I asked her who Santa was and she seemed disinterested and said, "I don't know" (but from the picture above, she clearly knew more than she was letting on). I knew preschool wouldn't make a big deal of Santa since it's a Christian preschool and she's been coming home with pictures of baby Jesus and wise men.  I thought we were in the clear.

Karis came home one day from preschool with a little craft activity that said, "All I want for Christmas is..."  Her teacher wrote in "a teddy bear" for her. After talking with Karis, she confirmed that that's what she wanted for Christmas. When we went to take photos with Santa, I was giving her ideas of what she could talk to Santa about. I told her to tell him that she wants a teddy bear. And so she did. 

I went to the toy store and bought a teddy bear. It was a gift from my sister to Karis. I thought for sure it would be the biggest hit of all the gifts she received. When Karis opened it on Christmas day, her eyes got real big and she said, "It's from Santa!" I quickly corrected her and said, "No, it's from Patty Emo. Santa told Patty that that's what you wanted."

Later that morning, as the girls were playing outside in the snow, Karis ran over to our next door neighbor and told her, "Santa didn't come to my house." Our neighbor gave Derek a look, feeling sorry for our child. 

Karis is still sad that Santa didn't bring her a present. She wanted a teddy bear from Santa. She gets sad when I tell her Christmas is over. She doesn't want me to take our tree down. 

I feel like I blew it! I don't want Christmas to be all about Santa but it is fun to see the wonderment of Santa in the kids. We'll have to be more prepared next year and have a different game plan ... 

Peek-a-boo with Kyle

Good Food. Great People.

Derek's good friend from college recently moved to Louisiana. They hadn't seen each other in a really long time. His wife had some work to do in Dallas so he and the kids tagged along so we could meet them. They came over Friday night and we had a personal chef cook us dinner. We watched and asked questions and he even taught the older kids how to use a knife and flip food in a saucepan. 

The menu included cream of mushroom soup, a pear and walnut salad, salmon, steak, risotto, green beans and tiramisu for dessert. The food was great and it was nice to have someone cook us a meal, serve us and clean up the kitchen afterwards. I could get use to that! 

We had a great time visiting with our friends and we hope we'll have more opportunities to hang out with them in the future.    

Merry Christmas!

Last night, we went to our Christmas Eve service at church. We almost didn't make it as I threw out my back first thing in the morning. It was minor compared to the other two times I threw out my back, but it was enough to keep me in bed all day. By late afternoon, I managed to get myself ready and we all headed out to church where we enjoyed a candlelight family service with Christmas songs and a story for the kids. 

 

This was the first year Derek wasn't working during the service and was able to sit with us and come home with us. We loved it! After service, we ran into some friends in the parking lot and decided to go out for dinner. We came home, put Kyle to bed and then the girls opened one gift.

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During the night, we had a big thunderstorm with lots of lightning and thunder that shook the house. Karis and Kyle slept through it but Makena woke up scared and crawled into bed with us. Kyle thankfully slept through the night, but he may have had some sort of stomach bug. After I fed him at 5 am, he projectile vomited on me. Awesome. He didn't seem unhappy but he stayed up for an hour to play. 

We all slept in until about 8:30 am. After some chocolate chip pancakes and coffee (for Mom and Dad), we were finally ready to open presents. 

  

  

Thank you family for all the great gifts you sent! 

While we were enjoying all the new toys, we looked outside to see snow falling. Derek quickly dressed the girls and they had fun playing in the snow, trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues. After one photo, Kyle and I stayed inside where it was warm. 

  

Back to the Mall to Visit with Santa

When Karis was one, I went to the mall to get a photo of her with Santa. We waited in a long line, and to my surprise, our little social butterfly was terrified of Santa. It made for a fun photo, but I decided back then that I wouldn't do it again. 

We then moved to Irvine and our neighborhood had a Christmas party every year that Mr. and Mrs. Claus attended. Santa had a horribly fake beard, but we at least got a picture with him in an easy and stress-free way. 

Makena has never been a fan of Santa. I love the series of photos I got of her the first time she met him (click here to see the photos).  Even the year after, she wouldn't sit with him. This year, Makena was excited to see Santa. I told her last night we were going to see Santa and she wanted to go "now." This morning, she was still excited. I asked her what she was going to tell Santa she wanted for Christmas (even though both girls don't really understand who Santa is). She thought about it and then said, "Jesus!" I laughed and then put her shirt on and she said, "I look pretty for Santa." I left the house very hopeful that I was going to get a photo of her on Santa's lap. As we walked through the mall, she called out, "Santa, where are you?" 

There was only one family ahead of us. When it was our turn, Makena had fear in her eyes. Karis hesitated for a few seconds, but she then went up to Santa. Makena refused. I took some photos of Karis and then put Kyle on Santa's lap. I asked Makena to sit with Santa again and she said no. Knowing my child as well as I do, I said, "Makena, Santa will give you candy!" And off she went...

I put Kyle back in the stroller and was ready to go. I looked back and Karis was talking with Santa about what she wants for Christmas. I quickly took another photo and it turned out to be my favorite one.

A Beautiful Day

After several cold days and one day of rain, today was a beautiful day. We walked to the nearest park which is half a mile away. We ate a packed lunch and played. Kyle sat in a swing for the first time and he laughed and giggled as his sisters pushed him.

  

  

Kyle at 7 Months Old

First, here are a couple of photos of Kyle when he was 6 months old. I was in the thick of packing up the house so I didn't get around to posting anything.

  

Okay, onto Kyle being 7 months old. He's still a happy guy.    

He has improved his crawling style. At 5 1/2 months, he started "moving." He would get up on all fours and then face plant forward. It wasn't graceful looking, but it did get him from Point A to Point B.  His crawl then started looking like "the worm" as if he was break dancing. Just recently he got up on his knees and started to crawl. He can also get from being on his belly to an almost-sitting position. 

He loves to explore and no longer likes being confined to the exersaucer (where he used to spend a lot of time before we moved). He has already pulled himself up on things...

One thing about Kyle is that he doesn't like to be left alone. He likes to be surrounded by people. When he realizes he's by himself he'll cry and start to crawl out of the room. He'll then cry more and put his head down in devastation because he can't get anywhere fast.  

The past week, I've been trying to get him to sleep through the night. I was so over feeding him twice each night. He's eating solids and I'm nursing him every three hours during the day. Surely he doesn't need to be eating all night long. 

When he woke up the first night around midnight, I patted him and told him to go night-night. I went in there periodically but he continued to cry for about two hours. I finally picked up my exhausted baby and let him sleep with me. I fed him when he woke up at 4:30 am. The next night, he only cried for about 15 minutes and then woke up in the 4 o'clock hour. For the past week, he continues to wake up around 1 am. I go in there to tell him to go back to sleep and then he whimpers on and off for awhile. The last two nights, I haven't had to go there until I feed him. I think he's getting it!  

I love when he falls asleep on me!

Kyle has been eating a variety of things. I've been enjoying making baby food for him. He eats zucchini, carrots, sweet potato, peas, bananas, apples, and avocados.

He's a pretty fun kid and we love having him around!

A New Preschool for Karis

Our church has its own preschool. Thankfully there was one spot open in the 3-year old class for Karis.  We signed her up for two days a week.  They take kids as young as 6 months old and I won't pretend that I didn't think about sending all three kids! 

The day before Karis was to go to preschool, we went to visit the school to see if we could meet her teacher and see her classroom. Karis did great at her other school, but I wasn't sure if the move and all the changes was going to throw her off. We made a brief visit (the teachers were not there) and the next day we headed to preschool. She seemed a little apprehensive in the parking lot but when I asked her if she was ready, she said she was. 

On her first day, the kids were getting ready for their Christmas program which they had been practicing for a couple of weeks. The teacher said she jumped right in and participated in the songs. She had a great time and couldn't wait to go back.  

Her program runs until 2 pm, so she takes a packed lunch. After lunch, they have a 45 minute rest period. I pick Karis up before that starts at 1:15 pm so that I can get both girls down for a nap before 2 pm. The preschool is inside our church, so we get to see Daddy when Karis is done with school. What's also great about that is that if I'm running late, Derek can walk down the hall and pick her up. 

So our church, Daddy's office and preschool are all in the same building. On a completely different note, today Makena was showing me how she can hop on one foot. I applauded her and told her she should be in gymnastics. I asked her if she wanted to take gymnastics and she replied, "Yeah! At church?"  After all, everything else seems to be there!

Getting Ready for Christmas

The girls love to decorate the tree. Unfortunately, they also like to take the ornaments off and play with them. Because of that, we (re)decorate the tree almost every day.

  

Karis remembered decorating a gingerbread house last year and asked early on to do it again this year. I bought a set that had five mini houses. Derek was gone for a few days at a staff retreat, so I thought decorating the gingerbread houses would be a good way to spend the time before dinner. Everything was going great until I stepped away to put the laundry in the dryer. A little squabble ensued and Makena put her hand on Karis' plate. Her gingerbread house hit the floor.  Boy, were there tears! So much for the happy Christmas scene at our house.  

We tried again a couple days later with the remainder of the houses. Karis moved to a different table and happily worked on hers by herself. I spent time helping Makena, trying to get her not to eat all the candy (Makena's house is always shiny because she licks the candy that is stuck on the house). We ended up with some great looking houses!

 

The house that never got finished.

Makena's houses

One of Karis' houses