while the babies sleep...

I have finally gotten BOTH Josephine AND Kale down so thought I'd write quick since it had been a while. The girls danced at the Spencer Mall on Saturday with their dance center and danced to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". I believe that Mia was Prancer and Ana was Cupid. It was so cute and I promise I will put some pictures on here when I get a chance. We were able to finish up the last of our Christmas shopping (other than 1 gift) after that, so that was great.

Kale is turning in to such a young boy now. I seriously look at him and everything about him is changing. He no longer looks like a baby boy!! I watch him with Josephine and he wants to be gentle but he just wants her to play with him so badly - I don't think he thinks that a 4 month old should just lay around, be held, and sleep all day.

The girls are on countdown patrol for Christmas on the calendar. I literally think it's the first thing they say to me after they've told me good morning!!! We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas season and hope that all of you enjoy the magic of this wonderful time of year as much as our family will. We also hope that Santa brings you and your family everything you have on your lists!!!! Please keep my sister, Angela, in your prayers and she will undergo surgery next Monday. Her full, speedy recovery and clean bill of health is all that is on MY list. I can't imagine life without you, Ang!!! We love you so very much.

It's been a LONG day.

Boy oh boy, is this day over yet??? I was ready for my day to end before it even began! I knew it would be a long day when the whining began before breakfast had even been served. I must first start out by saying that while Chad was home for lunch yesterday, I put him to work getting Kale moved in to his "big" bed. Kale really wasn't excited about the move and kept saying that he didn't want a big bed, but the fact that he hardly had room to move anymore in the crib made the move inevitable. It was such an emotional moment for me knowing that my little boy was officially not a baby anymore!! So when nap time came around, I was really nervous about how it would go. I laid with him for just a bit to get him comfortable and had to return once to get his comforter back over his legs, but then he was OUT. It's almost as if it went too smoothly and I should have known better!! Daddy gave in at bedtime and laid down with him until he fell asleep because I wouldn't!! But, that also has made for another challenge for today. Kale has been "mister bossy" since breakfast, which doesn't sit well with me. There is nothing that drives me more crazy than when my kids get bossy with me or they do nothing but talk to me in a whiney voice, and that's been the whole morning! The baby that I'm babysitting has only taken cat naps today and getting Kale back in to his bed posed a HUGE challenge! I've finally gotten them BOTH down and am hoping for a few more quiet moments before it all starts up again!!! Hopefully Kale wakes up in a better mood, and the baby takes a longer nap than 30 minutes. Wish me luck!

And so it begins...

As I am holding Josephine, the baby I am babysitting for a few weeks, Kale begins to throw a fit because I won't let him have a snack (which he had just finished eating breakfast about 15 minutes before). The words that came out of his little mouth then reminded me of the girls just a few years back..."Mommy, I'm leaving...I don't like that". I am officially the "bad guy" now! I can remember exactly the first time Mia said to me that she was mad at me and going to go live somewhere else. I don't remember that happening at 2 years old though!!! My life is going to be very interesting from here on out with this little boy!!!

Oh the weather outside is frightful! The girls were let out of school an hour early today because of the weather and it's not looking like it's going to get any better for tomorrow. Gotta love snow days.

I'm getting old...

What a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday we had! While Thanksgiving day started out a little later than we had anticipated (Chad's parents were having problems with their well), we managed to get Thanksgiving, a quick little birthday cake for the girls, and Christmas all done in ONE DAY!!! As you can tell by the picture of Kale asleep on the floor, we were partying until we couldn't party any more!! He didn't even have the energy to get up on our bed for nap when his blanket fell! Since Chad's sister, Sharrey, and her husband won't be returning for Christmas, we tried to get everything in over Thanksgiving. We then stopped to spend a little time with my Dad the next evening and got to see a few of our nieces and nephews who were spending time at Grandma and Grandpa's!!! It was a busy weekend, but we loved seeing everyone. It was especially fun for us as we hosted our first Thanksgiving at our house!

During the weekend, we also got the Fank grandchildren together to get their picture taken by the two pedal tractors that Grandma and Grandpa Fank have had refurbished. It was an interesting time trying to get four kids to smile and sit still - but I managed to get a few good pic's so added one for you all to see.

I now, during the month of December, will be babysitting a 3 month old for some friends of ours - until Christmas anyway. She just returned to work today from maternity leave and has decided to stay home but said she'd work through December. So, instead of them finding daycare for one month, I had said I would babysit. BOY, I'm remembering really quickly how much your back hurts after carrying a baby around all day!!! Kale did SO good today, considering he's been mommy's only concern for the last two years. He wanted so badly to hold her and "pet" her, as he would say. It will be a fun month, but I think I will also be ready to have my "normal" life back when all is said and done too.

A rocky start to a 6th birthday!

Boy, what a crazy few days before the girls' birthday!!! I had plans to be out of town with some friends on Monday and part of Tuesday but it was rescheduled last minute - and good thing it was because I wouldn't have been able to go as it was! Ana came down with a fever at bedtime Saturday night and continued to run her fever all the way through Tuesday (THEIR BIRTHDAY!). Poor Ana didn't even get to go to school to help her sister pass out their treats! Ever since she started having seizures and we've found out what to do to help eliminate the possibility of having them occur again, I get SO nervous when she gets a fever or a cold, for fear they will start again. I got very scared when I took her temp and it was 104 degrees. She was so off balance, but stood in the shower for 30 minutes to cool down until the medicine kicked in. She's definitely a trooper. And, thank God, no seizures!! We were finally able to get together with Grandma and Grandpa Kerber, and Grandma Fank. Grandpa Fank was still busy in the field and Grandma and Grandpa Luedtke are gone to Hawaii enjoying their anniversary. The girls asked to go to the chinese restaurant here in town for their meal, so that's what we did (last night because they had dance on their birthday). Our babies are SIX!!! Such beautiful and wonderful little girls - we are truly blessed.

The countdown is on...

For the last few weeks the girls have been asking "how many days until our birthday?" Well, once we hit 15 days, they have been counting down the days ever since. We are now down to 3!!! My babies are going to be 6! Where did the time go?? It's amazing how much they have grown in the time since Kale was born - I think I've noticed it mostly because I have been here to see them grow. I feel so sad when I think that I missed out on 3 years of watching them grow, so I think I notice even the smallest of things now! I find great joy in the smallest of things now too. Before I know it, Kale will be leaving me for school too - so I have to take advantage of all of the minutes I have remaining!

With the cruddy weather we had this past week, I have found really quickly that it's going to be a LONG winter with Kale. He's such an "outside" kid so being limited to the inside has been hard. We've enjoyed our fair share of snow, rain, cold, and wind this past week and I hope that it's not a sign of what's to come.

Now we look forward to the girls' birthday and Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for!!

Gotta love Fall!!!

You know you're in Iowa when...it can be almost 80 degrees on Monday and then have a chance for snow by Thursday!!! This is the one thing I dislike most about Fall - I wish it would just stay 60 degrees in the winter and then be about 80-85 degrees in the summer. I'm not asking too much!!

The best thing about Fall though is all the fun things there are to do with the kids. I've added some pictures from some of the things we've been doing this fall.

Carving pumpkins was fun this year because Kale loved digging his hands in to pull everything out. Ana, our kid that will try anything, was all about getting in and getting dirty to clean out her pumpkin as well. Mia, on the other hand, didn't want to even get near the gunk inside. It's so amazing how she can be such a tough kid, but can be so apprehensive when it comes to trying anything!! Swimming lessons concluded as well and both of the girls passed and can now move on to the next level. They are begging me to get them signed up again and I have to constantly tell them that I can't sign them up until they tell us that they will be offering them again!! Ana, once again, was the brave one and jumped off the diving board like 6 times while Mia was too scared to try. I remember being nervous doing it the first time to so I had the talk with her about "you will never know if you enjoy it unless you try it - you have to try it at least once". So maybe next time, she'll give it a shot! Both girls have become very comfortable with swimming under water, floating, etc. I hope to get them in level two when they offer them again so they don't lose interest!!!

Halloween was a fun night. Aunt Nikki and Cousin Hailey came and trick or treated with us. If you remember, Hailey was here when Kale ended up in a dress, so it was bound to be a fun night for all of them! Kale took everything in stride - although was very unsure about all of the other kids being dressed up. He quickly got though it though and acted like an 'ol pro as he walked up to people's doors and got candy. The funniest things though were the fact that starting off he insisted on EATING all of his candy instead of putting it in his bag, and the other being that once he couldn't keep up with eating it - he thought he should carry all of it. I began to wonder why we even brought a bag. He finally started putting it in his bag and ended up with a lot!!! This was the first year that we have actually walked the streets. In the past we have just gone to people's homes that we know because it has always been so chilly. It was a perfect night this year - no coats needed!

Kale has been completely content this fall spending time with Grandpa or Daddy in the combine. Next year, they're in trouble. I'm sure he's taking mental notes and will be expecting to steer the steering wheel!! The girls have put in a little time as well, but no where near as much as their brother. Thankfully, harvest has gone fairly smoothly as far as time, but the wind did a real number on it a little over a week ago. Lots of farmers with corn down. I guess if it's not one thing, it's another!!

Have a wonderful fall everyone, and hopefully we aren't talking about snow any time soon!!!