Drawings by Karis

Here are a couple of things Karis has drawn recently.

This first drawing was at Makena's request. Kyle was playing in the girls' room and he "messed up" some of Makena's things. Karis helped her out by drawing a picture for their door. Kyle is drawn on the left and Makena on the right. 

My little ones don't read, so our Keep Out signs are in pictures for now!

Karis drew this next one at school. The night before, I was going through a box of old pictures because Karis needed to bring a baby picture to school. I showed a picture to Derek of him and Karis at the beach. Karis looked so little! 

The next day at school, Karis had to draw something she used to do with her Daddy. She drew the picture she saw the night before (it wasn't the one she brought to school). I thought she did a great job!

Pre-School/K Update

The kids have completed three weeks of preschool. Everyone is loving it! 

For the first couple of weeks, Makena was a little hesitant about going to preschool because she wasn't sure she would have the same teachers. At Sunday school, the parents rotate each week for the first hour. She doesn't like going to class when she's not fond of the parents. But now that she finally gets it that she has the same teachers every time, she's excited to go. There is usually one or two kids crying in her class after drop-off. I'm so thankful that Makena is not one of them. She's doing great! 

Makena enjoys learning Spanish and new songs. She also likes playing with her friend Annabelle. Annabelle is Makena's first friend. They are not in the same class but they play together during recess. Here is a picture of them from this past January. 

Karis loves going to pre-K but she always walks in a little slowly and sometimes runs to me to give me a last minute hug. I asked her about it and she said she feels shy when she first gets there. I guess she's past the stage when she loved meeting people and fearless when she walked into a room. 

Karis' favorite part of the day is circle time where they sing songs together. She of course loves working on art projects as well. Every Wednesday, they have Show and Tell and they get to bring something that starts with the letter they are working on. It's fun to talk with her about what she can bring and come up with something together. 

I love talking to the girls about their time at school and hearing about what they learned.  Here is a video of them reciting their memory verse. 

When I drop off Kyle, the teacher says, "Hi Kyle. All your friends are here. Hey everyone! Kyle is here!" It's really cute. I love the little craft projects they do. When they were learning about creation and how God made the trees and plants, Kyle got to stuff twigs and leaves into an empty water bottle (compared to Karis who learned the process of planting and growing seeds =)) Thankfully Kyle takes a nap each time but he definitely needs to go to bed earlier on school days. 

Last week, he woke up one night at 2 am and didn't go back to sleep until about 3:30 am. Needless to say he was tired that day. He went down for a nap at school and didn't wake up until after I came to pick him up. He slept for about an hour on the floor with all the kids around him playing and while everyone got picked up. The teacher said a kid accidentally dropped a toy on his head at one point and he didn't even stir. 

This is what he looked liked when I came to pick him up. I love how he's covering his ear to block out the noise!

Perhaps the best part of their day is getting to go see Daddy in his office after school.

School's out!

Drawing a few pictures before it's time to go home.

Kyle at 16 Months

 

I just read my blog posts about Karis and Makena at 15 months. It's fun to compare all three of them. Kyle is of course not exactly like either of them, but perhaps a little more like Makena at this age.

Kyle loves to give hugs and kisses. For a gentle little guy, he's very loud. You definitely know when he's not happy. He also knows how to fake cry. So obvious. He just recently started yelling too. Loud shouts for no apparent reason. Here's one of his fake crying moments when I wouldn't give him a cracker. 

He's been enjoying social situations and interacting with people. He likes to wave hello and say "bye!" to people. He'll even blow kisses to some. He'll go up to any guy and give him a high-5, but he picks and chooses which ladies he wants to interact with. Most times he'll hang his head down and avoid eye contact with her. 

He has five teeth with one or two about to come in. He loves to eat and lately has been trying to feed himself. There really isn't anything that I've given him that he doesn't like. Some of his favorites are pasta, yogurt, crackers, avocado and fruit. He'll eat until his belly is about to pop!

Kyle loves to climb on chairs, onto step stools, and up slides. He loves to climb up and sit on the couch to watch a few seconds of TV. I think it makes him feel like a big kid. He's gotten his fair share of boo-boos from falling off things. I don't know if it's because he's a boy or because he's a third child and not watched after as closely as if he was the only or second child. 

   

He loves to go "bye-bye." I used to think that he cried when I left the house because he didn't want me to leave. I soon realized he's just sad that I'm leaving without him. He loves to get in the car and also to go for walks. We used to push him around in the stroller or his car, but lately he loves to walk by himself. Check out what a good time he's having in this photo!

Makena loves to help me take care of him. Whenever she hears him awake in his crib, she'll ask, "Can I go get Kyle?" She'll play with him and toss him a few toys. She'll eventually call out, "Mom, Kyle wants you!" when Kyle is ready to get out. She loves to help me feed Kyle too. She'll buckle him in, give him his tray, fetch his sippy cup from the fridge and give him his food. Such a great helper!

Here is a video of our sweet boy with his loud voice. 

First Day of Preschool!

Today was the first day of school! Karis will be going to Pre-K three days a week. If you ask her about preschool, she will quickly correct you and tell you that she is in Pre-K. Last week, we found out that Karis' new classroom was directly across the hall from her old classroom. When we told Karis, she said, "No, that class is for the big kids." We told her that she's now the "big kid." Her face lit up as she realized that she's now one of those  big kids she saw last year in pre-K. 

When we took Karis to her class, she was quiet but excited for the day. When she came home from school I had the following conversation with her:

Me: I missed you! Did you miss me? 

Karis: silence

Me:  Did you even think about me while you were at school?

Karis: Yes.

Me:  You did?!  When?

Karis: When I went poo-poo. I had to wipe myself. 

Well, at least she thought about me once.

 

Makena will be in preschool two days a week. She has the same teacher Karis had last year. I love her teacher. I remember dropping Karis off the first day of preschool last year. Makena was with me and the teacher asked her name. That afternoon when I picked up Karis, the teacher remembered her name and talked to her. She continued to always talk to Makena when we picked up and dropped off Karis. Knowing and liking her teacher has made Makena much more comfortable about going to preschool. Makena is my homebody and her excitement for preschool is only because we've made a big deal about it and big sis has been so excited. In reality, she'd rather be at home with me. 

When we were getting ready to leave her class, she became nervous. She looked around and saw only unfamiliar faces. Thankfully, her teacher just sat down to play. Makena sat down next to her and she was fine. She had a great first day and loved being the line leader (because Mommy brought the class snacks that day). 

 

Kyle will be going to preschool two days a week too. His class is structured with Music, Movement, Bible Story and Spanish! We're excited for Kyle to learn new things and be around other kids. Of course the little guy had no idea what was going on today. He was just happy to put on his shoes and get in the car. 

When we arrived, he was quite comfortable as he's in the same classroom as his Sunday school class. But when it was time to hand him off, he clung to me and avoided eye contact with his teacher. When I handed him over, he cried but stopped by the time I had gathered my things and left. The teachers said he did great and even took an hour nap. I'm happy and sad about him growing up. He looks so big and becoming so independent!

I surprised the girls this morning with new lunch boxes. Karis made sure hers was in every picture. 

Karis didn't like the black signs I made, so we made her a different sign. She colored it and glued it on herself.

  

Some tickles from Daddy before heading to school.

Karis in her new classroom. She has three classmates from last year's class.

Makena and me in her class.

I was excited for Karis to start pre-K, but I felt a little sad about Makena. Makena is slightly younger than Karis when she started preschool (on top of not being so sure about preschool). I love that preschool is giving me some time to myself and enabling me to get things done, but five hours is a long time to be without my little guy! We know that they're all going to do great and we look forward to all the new things they will learn and experience. It was too hectic dropping off the kids for me to get sad at school. After dropping all three off, we went to a Parents Meeting and then I went to a chiro appointment. Afterwards, a friend treated another friend and me to a "boo hoo breakfast." She wanted to help alleviate any sadness about leaving our kids! It was then off to the grocery store. Those five hours went by fast!

Me and the Girls

Last Saturday I took the girls to their friend's birthday party. The party was at The Perot Museum in Dallas. It was our first venture into Dallas. Thankfully, a friend of mine and her daughter rode with us and helped navigate!

After the party, we stayed and explored the children's museum.

Later that day I took the girls to a carnival at a church down the street. The girls didn't have a lot of choices in rides (still too short!), but we managed to ride four rides (which they loved!) and play a few games. I loved listening to the girls giggle and squeal on the rides -- priceless!

It was fun (and so much easier) hanging out with just the girls. They are growing up fast!

A Trip to California

I made a wedding cake for some friends five years ago. I made them a 1-year anniversary cake as well. The husband asked if I would make them a 5-year anniversary cake if he flew us out there. Of course I said yes! We spent six days in California over Labor Day weekend. 

We took a late flight on Thursday. The girls did great on the flight but not little Kyle. It was late and he refused to fall asleep. He eventually did but then kept waking up. Thankfully we were in the Economy Plus section with not a lot of people around us. We even had the whole row (six seats) all to ourselves. He finally did fall asleep and was out the rest of the night. He slept through landing, de-planing and waiting for our luggage. 

Crazy girls slept a little on the plane. They were great about waking up and de-planing. They were crazy-excited at the airport waiting for my sister to pick us up. It was 12:30 am our time!

It was a busy four days of baking, seeing friends, and spending time with family. Derek had a long day on Friday. He met up with some friends during the day and then drove down to San Diego to celebrate a friend's graduation from Marine boot camp. He didn't get back home until midnight! We lounged around on Saturday as I baked and the kids played with their cousins. After naps, we went out to dinner and then to the beach. We only had about 45 minutes before the sun set, but the kids loved running around in the water and playing with the sand. We wished we had made it down to the beach earlier, but we were too afraid of the holiday crowd. 

On Sunday, we went to our old church and had a potluck lunch afterwards. We saw a few more friends in the afternoon and then delivered the cake in the evening. It was a long day and the kids barely napped while we were out for about 12 hours. But they had a great time and so did we. 

On Monday, we met just a few friends at the park. It was a hot day. Actually, it was hot the entire time we were there. We were hoping to get a break from the Texas heat, but SoCal was experiencing a heat wave. Such a bummer! 

After the park, we went to our friends' pool with Julie's family and my cousin and her two kids. It was a great way to cool off. We then went to our friends' house for burgers and dogs. 

The next morning, Derek and I woke up at 4:45 am, packed the car and then woke the kids up at 5:30 am. We had a 7:30 am flight which was delayed about an hour. That caused us to miss our connection, so we were booked on a later flight. By the time we got home, it was rush hour so the ride home took a long time. The kids were exhausted and hungry. Karis kept whining in the van and we kept telling her to stop. She finally broke down in tears and said, "I can't help it!" Poor thing got little sleep the night before and then had been up for 12+ hours. We were all exhausted and happy to finally get home!

These Are A Few Of Their Favorite Things

These days, the girls love to do crafts. They love to cut, color, glue and play with beads. They also love coloring books and drawing with markers. One of our most recent projects was making paper fairies and mermaids. It was Karis' idea. I drew them, they colored them, and then I cut them out. They played with them for hours. 

Here are some of their other projects:

Their latest obsession is Strawberry Shortcake. They watch the show every day and love to read the books and play with little figurines. Their second favorite TV show is Care Bears. 

I love that they have been enjoying a lot of the same things. It's fun to watch them play together and I love how their relationship is developing.

First Sleepover

Karis went to her first sleepover. Well, maybe her second one. She slept over at my sister's house once but I don't know if that counts. 

We have small group on Sunday nights at our Lead Pastor's house. Karis always has a great time and asks to come back. This week, she asked if she could sleep over (I think because one of the daughters went to a sleepover that night). I took her back over there after dinner Monday night and met up with them the next day at a playdate with other moms. 

Karis did great overnight at my sister's so I had no doubts that she would be more than fine this time around. But just to make sure, I told her that if she got sad or wanted to say good-night, she could ask their mommy to call me. She looked at me with a confused look and said, "Why?" Silly me, for thinking she might miss her family... 

Needless to say, she had a great time and wants to do it again. I love that about this girl. She is adventurous and loves new things. She's always been like that. 

I took the opportunity to spend some alone time with Makena. After dropping off big sis, we went to Target. Makena asked to pick the cart and of course she picked the biggest, bulkiest one. It was hard to maneuver, but we had fun at the store since I wasn't in a rush or busy keeping three kids content. She got the royal treatment!

We then went to get some frozen yogurt. She got some extra toppings she normally doesn't get. She shoveled in every last drop!