First Grade Assignment

Karis' first homework assignment was to bring a few "artifacts" about herself. One of the things she had to bring was something special or unique about her family. She just read the word "special" in the assignment and thought she had to bring something that was special to her. Not knowing that, I didn't understand why she kept asking me to take pictures of Fluffy for her. I thought she wanted a picture of Fluffy because Makena had a picture of her and Bunny that she was using for her assignment. 

We soon cleared up what she was supposed to bring, but I still took pictures of her and Fluffy. I then found a picture of her and Fluffy when she just turned two years old. What a difference four years has made! She has grown up into a beautiful little girl and Fluffy remains her favorite (and surpassingly in tact!). 

Update on Fluffy

Karis has been trying to think of what she can give to Makena for her birthday. First, she decorated a large Easter egg with stickers and filled it with some sparkly decorative eggs she purchased at the dollar store with some gift money (Thanks, Auntie Linda!). But then she changed her mind and wanted to give the egg to her teachers at school.

She then decided she wanted to give Fluffy to Makena for her birthday. She drew her a card and asked for Fluffy so she could put it with the card. I hesistated and tried to convince her to do it later, in fear that she would "relapse." She then told me, "I want to say good-bye to Fluffy." I pulled out Fluffy and gave it to her. She smelled him and then... she said, "Ew, he's stinky!" I was so relieved! She taped his ears onto the card and then gave him back to me. 

Good-Bye Fluffy

  

Karis has finally said good-bye to Fluffy. We have been waiting for this day to come, but now that it has, we're a little sad. Karis has been attached to Fluffy since she was 6 months old. She didn't use a pacifier so she sucked on two fingers on her left hand. For some reason, whenever she held Fluffy, those fingers would automatically go into her mouth and at no other time. 

She slept with him and played with him, he comforted her, and she carried him wherever she went. He was part of the family! We definitely don't have a shortage of pictures of him. Here are just a few:

My two babies and their bottles

First day of potty training

Easter Sunday: Fluffy usually stayed at home or in the car -- not sure how he got to go to church 

A rare instance when she fell asleep on the couch, thanks to her gymnastics class 

TV time!

Fluffy was always close by

Fluffy was often a source of frustration to us -- she would stick dirty fingers in her mouth and I think she got sick more often because of it, she would lose him or leave him behind somewhere. We wasted so much time looking for Fluffy before naptime and bedtime. 

About a year or so ago, we told Karis she was to leave Fluffy in her bed during the day. She was fine with it and from that day forward Fluffy was always in her bed. We thought we were one step closer to giving up Fluffy. 

When we moved to Texas, the major change was affecting Karis. She became very whiney about everything. Fed up with it, I told her one day to go get Fluffy out of her room. From that day forward, at age 4, she was more attached to him than ever before. We couldn't get her to leave him in her bed anymore. She is an obedient child, but she just wouldn't and couldn't obey us on this one. We told her she needed to give up Fluffy. She wanted to and tried a couple times -- she asked us to give him away or to hide him from her -- but come bedtime, she would ask for him back. 

A week from last Tuesday, Karis told us she didn't need Fluffy anymore. I didn't think anything of it because we had heard her say that before. But that night, she went to bed without him. It was lying on her bedroom floor and she left him there. And just like that, she was done! The next couple of nights, it took her a little longer to fall asleep, but she did so without Fluffy. She slept with another stuffed animal. It's been almost two weeks and I think it's safe to say she is done with Fluffy and sucking fingers! We are so thankful that this day finally came and I feel a little silly for stressing out about it in the past. This truly is a sign of her growing up! sniff... sniff...

To Karis, As You Turn 18 Months

Karis,

Today you turned 18 months old! There are days when I look at you and still think, "Wow, this child is mine." I am so blessed and thankful. When you were born, I never could have imagined how much joy you would bring into our lives.

You are such a happy baby with a great personality. You make me laugh and smile throughout each day. I have been praying since before you were born that you would love people deeply. I can see God molding your heart in such a way. You love meeting new people and interacting with them. Many of our friends tell us how you make them happy and they always look forward to seeing you. I know you will continue to bless those around you for the rest of your life. I pray that your life would usher many into the Kingdom.

You are our little monkey. You love to climb on tables, chairs, the couch and even your toys. It frustrates mommy and daddy to no end because we're afraid you're going to hurt yourself. Unfortunately, you don't have the same fear. When you do fall (it's not often b/c you have a pretty good balance and coordination) you don't cry for long, if at all. You would rather take the reprimand/discipline and a bump on the head over giving up your love to climb. We will be finding a gymnastics class for you SOON!

I love how you're always running from point A to point B (you hardly ever just walk around the house).

I love when you're trying to be silly to get us to laugh. I love the sound of your laughter and when you laugh at nothing at all (or so it seems). I love the ways you try to communicate with us with hand motions and sounds. You’re quite hesitant to try to say new words. It seems as if you want to make sure you say it right or not at all. Your favorite words are, “ma,” “da,” “ball,” “nigh-nigh” and “duck.”

I have loved seeing your relationship with daddy develop. Seeing him be such a good daddy to you has made me love him even more. He gets so excited to see you when he gets home from work, as do you. You now recognize the sound of his motorcycle coming down the street. I love hearing the two of you laugh together and read books. I love how you're so content being held in his arms. I have even heard daddy say, "Look at the princess, she's so pretty." Only his little girl could get him to say that! He loves having you with him to show you off. He is a proud daddy who loves you so much.

You love to kiss and hold your little sister. You still get frustrated when Makena takes up so much of my time. You show me where I can put her down so that I can be freed up to play with you!

You love to be outside and to go places. I love the way you grab your shoes on the way to the door.

Dogs continue to delight you. Fluffy is still your best friend.

Food is not much interest to you and you'd rather play than sit in the high chair. We continue to struggle to get you to eat enough during the day. I now bribe you with fruit to finish your dinner (usually brown rice, chicken and veggies). Or, I play make believe with a rubber duck or let you play with a soda can. Fruit is about the only thing you'll never turn down. You're finally getting your molars now so we hope you'll be able to broaden your food choices and get more excited about eating. I continue to try to give you only healthy food and am thankful that you still love your veggies and haven't eaten a lot of processed foods.

You still stick everything in your mouth. You love to brush your teeth and to have your hair blow-dried. You still put up a fight every time I try to trim your nails.

You throw tantrums, as do most kids your age, when you don't get your way. I'm hoping that you soon understand that when you fall to the ground and whine or run to the front door and cry, that it's not going to get you what you want. Then we can be done with them and move on. =)

It’s been so much fun watching you grow up and learning new things. You’re one smart cookie! I’m excited for you to become a little girl. Karis, I mean it with all my heart when I tell you each night when you go to bed that mommy loves you.

Not All Fluffies Are The Same

Karis' little blankie is affectionately called Fluffy. She has been sleeping with it since she was a few months old. I think she knew who we were referring to when we said "Fluffy" before "Mommy" and "Daddy." She has grown to love this little blue dog. It makes her smile whenever she sees it; it calms her crankiness when she is in the car seat; it lulls her to sleep at nap time and bed time. Whenever she gets a hold of Fluffy, she hugs it, sometimes stuffs its head in her mouth to give it a big smooch and her two fingers always go in her mouth.

When Karis started to take Fluffy out of the crib to play with and when Fluffy started to come along with us on car rides, I knew it was necessary to find a second one lest we lose the original. Derek and I, and even Grandma, spent a lot of time looking for a new Fluffy. We searched local stores and on the Internet, but with no tag, it was hard to find one.

After a couple of months of looking, I was ready to give up. One day I decided to check eBay one more time. To my surprise, I saw a "Fluffy" on sale by a lady who collects lost and hard-to-find lovies. I was shocked and called Derek right away to buy it.

So we were all quite thrilled to know that we had a 2nd Fluffy. It looked just like the original, but with a slightly larger head and softer. We gave it to Karis, but that little buggar won't buy it. She knows it isn't her Fluffy. Here is a video of what she does when she sees the 2nd one, which we now call Fluffier.

So now we're still in the same predicament. If we lose the original Fluffy, we are due for a crisis. We leave Fluffier out for her to play with and I throw it in the wash whenever I do laundry. We're hoping it'll start to grow on her.