"I'm Ready To Go Mom!"

So when Karis got up this morning she had on a cute, appropriate dress. That lasted about an hour or so. Then she came down with this. Yes it is a princess swimming suit, eyelet skirt, thick striped tights, and floral sequin shoes. Maybe she will be a fashion designer someday.

Grandmother's Birthday

We we headed over to Everett this weekend to celebrate my Grandmother's Birthday. We had a dinner at Mark and Melissa's and then we spent the night at Grandmother's house. My cousin Monica and her daughter Anya spent the night there too. The girls had lots of fun playing with technically my cousins Danny-8, Matthew-6 (AKA Kenny- right before we ate he informed his mom he wanted to change his name to Kenny-too cute!), and Mindy-4. Melissa is my aunt making them my cousins!

As you can see balloons were a big hit for the kids. And the food was a big hit for the adults. We all brought some stuff to make it easier on everyone and it all turned out delicious. Aunt Debbie and Uncle Dave were there too. Also my cousin Mark was there and his wife Rachel who is adorable and Avery loved her! It was quite cute to watch her with them.

Anyway it was a great weekend. Sunday we woke up and the girls played and Monica and Grandmother watched them while Scott and I went to Costco. It was so much faster than taking all of them and it was fabulous! Then we left and took the girls to the mall which wasn't too disastrous but not too fun either. I always think the mall will be so great but with 3 busy girls it is just hard!! Then we came home and got ready to start another week!

Pinkalicious!

So we got some new books from the book fair at Hailey's school. A favorite is Pinkalicious! The girls love the story. In the story the little girl eats pink cupcakes and turns pink. So of course Karis wanted to try it out. So we made pink cupcakes. As Karis was eating it she said with a worried look, "I need to go look and see if I turn pink. Will I Mom?" I don't know...you are looking pretty pink to me.....

First Homework!

Here is Hailey doing her first homework assignment. She had to choose something that started with the letter A and cut it out and write what it was. She chose an "American Girl Doll". Big surprise. Then for B she chose a "Bitty Baby". Wonder what C will be....

On a side note I am amazed at what she is learning. We went to Open House and she is literally doing some of the exact same stuff I did when I taught First Grade!! I guess that is the benefit of all day Kindergarten! She is doing tons of pre-literacy activities and math stuff too. I am very pleased with her teacher and how well she controls the class but is still very kind and loving. She still loves school so that is nice. We went on a field trip today to the Fire Station so that was really fun. Plus I have been meeting her for lunch/recess some so that has been fun. It is nice to get to know her little classmates. She has a great little group of friends and they all seem to really like her.

Happy First Birthday Gracie!

Gracie turned one the day after Avery turned two. We didn't go all out and have a party but the girls did each pick out and wrap a present. And we sang to her. I think she enjoyed the attention! A cute thing is Hailey now sleeps with Gracie- in her bed!! The girls love having her in their room and I can sleep much better because she used to always wake me up in the middle of the night licking herself. It is so gross to listen to. EWWW.....slurp, slurp, slurp....

The Benefits of Having This Child Home!

OK I don't know what it is but Karis has reverted back to acting like she did when she was 2 1/2- to around 3. Totally impulsive, no attention span, into everything and to be completely honest driving me a little nuts!! Like today in the course of an hour she drew all over herself with permanent black ink, spread pictures all over that I had neatly stacked, and turned on the bathroom water for Avery and then put her clothes in it, and spread toothpaste and soap on the counter!! When Hailey is home she always reports these things to me before they get too bad. Now any second I am say cleaning or fixing a meal or folding laundry and not paying total attention to Karis she does these things and leads Avery in the fun!! I miss my little rule-follower/reporter!! Plus she kept Karis entertained so well that Karis didn't have time to think up all these things. I can tell however Karis is enjoying her new sense of freedom!!

Alex's September Update!

Alex with one of the nannies that cares for him.

We got our update on Alex and this month they took candid photos. While I am thrilled to see him in his real life setting it also made me sad. The posed shots with the clean matching clothes feel a little better to me. These reminded me that our son is stuck in an orphanage. An orphanage where he is one of hundreds of children competing for attention, love, and toys. A place where I am sure he has had to cry himself to sleep at night and has now learned to self-soothe by rocking himself to sleep. (I am not judging the orphanage. They provided AMAZING care for these children. In fact it is by far the best orphanage situation he could be in and the only place I would want him to be in Haiti. I am just saying that when putting a hundred babies to sleep it would be impossible to soothe or rock them or feed them all to sleep.)

Anyway as you can see he still looks happy. He doesn't even know he has a family waiting for him. Sisters who pray every night for him and parents who long to hold him and bring him home. Why does this process have to be so long? We are still in pre-IBESR- that basically means we have a long, long way to go. I do believe we have the power to change things by prayer. Would you please pray that God would soften the hearts of the Haitian officials and allow adoptions to speed up? While Alex is being well cared for the orphanage is turning away babies and children because they are so full. Those precious little ones often starve to death. This is just so sad.....

Alex's stats:

Weight: 21 pounds 5 ounces

Height: 32.25 inches

This info made me so happy:

Alex is such a happy little boy! I have been in the nurseries much more this month to take all the photos, and it is always so much fun to see Alex. He is always smiling, and quite often jumping around. He bounces in his crib or just jumps around on the floor, because he always seems to be excited about something!

Alex also really likes being out on the balcony off of his nursery. He loves to look down at the people in the yard and all the activity there. When I am coming into the house, I often see Alex’s smiling face, looking down at me and his big smile and wave in greeting! That is always a great way to start the morning!

What's Your Secret?

OK so I stole this idea from Hannah's blog a few months back but it was so interesting I thought I would see how it worked for my blog readers. So in the comments section tell us a secret about yourself. Check the anonymous box so no one knows who wrote it! Here is your chance to get your secret out! (If you have ever mailed a secret to post-secret and not gotten it published like me then here is your chance to let it out!) So somebody start and then I will put mine in...obviously I'm not going first because that would be well obvious.....The more people that comment the more interesting it will be! And the braver people will get....so let's go!

Avery at 2!

Avery had her 2 year appointment today and everything looked great. This is a huge blessing because of all we went through with her in the last year. This is the first appointment where we got all good news and no tests needed and I must say it feels so great!! For those who don't know Avery had really slow weight gain- like 2 ounces a month so she needed blood work, stool and urine samples, an EKG, a chest x-ray, a visit to a Pediatric Cardiologist, a visit to Children's Hospital for a CF test and monthly weight checks. Yes this was enough to send this mommy to every level of anxiety.

Weight: 23 pounds (7%)
Height: 34 inches! (75%)

As you can see she is still on the small side for weight but is in the same curve she has been in for over a year so it is just her normal growth curve. I also talked to the dr. about her temper. I have been worried because she so easily gets so angry and screams like you wouldn't believe. Not for a long time- just like 30 seconds. It is hard to explain because it isn't like a normal temper tantrum but it happens probably 25 times a day- she gets frustrated and screams and it drives me nuts. She even did it a couple times in the office so he was able to see what I meant. And he said its normal! In fact he said his 8 yo was the same way and around 5 turned into this mild-mannered happy little girl. So I only have 3 more years of this...fabulous.....He did say he tried all kinds of things with her and even spanked her once but nothing worked until he suggested they talk to Jesus about it. He found that really worked to pray with her so I am going to focus on that more. I told him I haven't ever spanked her but sometimes I feel like I could! And at that point I have to put her in her room and shut the door. There are some days she ends up there several times but it does seem to calm her down. Anyway....I am so relieved that she is doing so well.

Also she is such a talker. Scott and I are amazed. All of a sudden everything she says is in 3-6 word sentences. And it is all very deliberate. She speaks very slowly and clearly. It is really, really cute. Here's some other stuff- for anyone still reading....this is mostly for my baby book so I can remember- don't mean to bore you all!

*Really, really snugly still, especially before bed and naps
*Sleeps a lot still! 11 1/2 hours at night and almost 3 for nap
* Sleeps with about 7 dolls and animals and her "mi-mi" (lavender blanket)
* Pooping on the toilet but not going potty!! AAAHHH-
* Going potty everywhere else and grabs me by the hand to come look- "See- peepee on floor!" she says in delight. Yeah..I am going to put potty-training on hold for awhile.
* Loves fruit- would eat as much as I would let her
*Prefers Mommy...all the time....cries when most people try to hold her
*Super shy. I get my advice from Hannah on this since she was really shy too. She tells me things that would have been upsetting for her so I try and not make Avery do them.
*Really active and busy- "quite agile" the dr. said
*Really sweet to her sisters. Loves to be included in whatever they are doing
*Really sweet personality....shares really well and wants to give people "bites" of her food
*Listens so well....basically does whatever I tell her to!
*Amazing cleaner. Can put all the Polly Pockets away in no time. Actually cleans much better than her older sisters! At church they always comment on how well she picks up!

Well that is all I can think of now. WE love her so much!! Hailey always is saying, "Why is she so cute Mom? She's the cutest baby ever!" And we couldn't agree more! Although when Hailey was this age I thought she was so old....but I think Avery is a baby still! Probably always will....

How Can This Be?

This is the face she now makes when we say, "Smile!"
A fun Birthday: Balloons from her sisters in bed, donuts with sprinkles, swinging outside with her baby doll, going to Hailey's school for lunch and recess, opening presents (Little People Tea Party for Hailey, My Little Pony remote control from Karis, Bitty Baby picnic set, Birdie mobiles from Daddy and Mommy.)when Daddy and Hailey got home, going out for ice-cream! (Changing her mind after we ordered and Karis kindly trading with her.)

Love this look- "Mom.....come on....no more photos!"

Really...could 2 years have really gone by that quickly? I thought I would tell Avery's birth story (I got this idea from Kelly's blog). When I was 37 weeks pregnant with her I went in for a routine appointment and the dr. told me she was breech. He gave me a couple options and since I am really not into having my stomach cut open I opted to try and have the baby turned. So I went to the hospital, they hooked me up to some machines, gave me a shot, and pushed and pulled until they got her head down. Yeah..not so fun.... So I went home and felt a lot better. Her head had been pushing against my ribs.

The next night as I sat watching TV Scott and I watched my belly move in a huge way as she turned herself back up! So went to the dr. a week later- went back to the hospital and had her turned again. At this point the nurses declared she was either a boy or a feisty one. We all know how that turned out. Went home, sat on the couch, same thing happened again. I was not happy. Thankfully I have a really good dr.- one of only 3 in the Yakima Valley willing to do a vaginal birth with a breech baby. He's been a dr. forever and I met the qualifications (gave birth before, gave birth quickly, gave birth to a large baby before). However he decided to try and turn her one more time. Since Karis' birth happened so fast he didn't want me driving 40 minutes birthing a breech baby in the car so he decided the safest bet was to induce me. Something I hadn't done before but at that point it seemed like the best way to go.

So Sunday around 11 we dropped the girls off at my parents and went to the hospital. They gave me the shot again and he pushed and pulled and tugged and finally got her to move head down. I was sweating and in pain but trying to pretend I was fine...I didn't want him to give up until he got her turned. Then he put in some cervical gel and had me lay perfectly still until her head engaged. Then he told me it would probably be at least 12 hours until labor started. Well he came back 4 hours later and I was in active labor. He ordered the epidural which was great for a little while. Then it quit working. I kept saying, "Why get a shot in the back if it doesn't do any good?" My whole family was there, people chatting all over having a great time and I was in agony. Dr. told me it would be several more hours and I thought I can't take this. So he ordered another epidural. At that point I was only dilated to 3 and I was thinking I never should have tried inducing this child. Even though she was 5 days late at this point.

Well he decided to check me again and said, "You are having a baby!" He rushed out of the room, changed his clothes, nurses came in and adjusted the bed and I was pushing. He got back in, I pushed a couple times and out she came. So in 20 minutes I went from a 3 to birth! That's why it hurt so much the nurse said. The funny thing is they thought it was a small baby and that's why she turned so easily but no- 9 pounds 9 ounces!! When she came out I said, "What is it?" And when they said, "A girl!" we all went "ooohhh" and started laughing. My mom, Becky, Hannah, and Scott were all there. I have it all on video if anyone wants to watch. Just kidding. Anyway she had dark hair, lots of it. In fact when I started pushing my mom goes, "The head is out!! It is darling!!" So it all turned out great. And the nurse was right...we got a feisty one!!

Happy Birdie Birthday Avery!

I can't believe it but Avery is 2!! I will do a post later about what she is doing and some pictures. Anyway she wanted a birdie Birthday party. We decided just to do a family party since she is so shy. Funny because when Hailey and Karis turned 2 we had a big bash with all their friends. Avery on the other hand is mostly just along for the ride so doesn't have a lot of her own friends. Maybe next year. Anyway we had a make your own pizza and salad bar. It was fun. Scott rolled out the dough and people put on their own toppings. Most of my family came and Scott's Dad came and our wonderful neighbors Paul and Helen Gene came. Check out all the birdie themed clothes she got! Gotta love it! She is thrilled. And she got stuff for her bitty baby- a really cute kitchen and some cute clothes. Thanks everybody! Since there aren't many birdie them items available for 2 year olds I made my own. Crayons and notebooks with bird pictures. Also birdie candy and a cake- neither which turned out how I planned of course. And bird cookies and 2 cookies.

The kids played "pin the wing on the birdie" and hunted for birdie candy. It was fun for Avery to be with her cousins!! The girls all had fun actually.
She wore her birdie dress. Check out all those cute cousins!!! We are so blessed! Baby Audrey was on her Daddy's lap- she is too young to hunt for candy!

The Church Outfit

So 11 months ago when Karis got this gymnastics/ballet outfit that matches her Bitty Baby I seriously thought the phase of wearing it daily would last a couple weeks maybe. As the months went on and the weather was freezing but she wore it anyway I started to realize it would be a few months. When my mom ended up buying her another one at the American Girl Doll store this summer because the first one was actually gross and so stained from being worn day in and out for 8 months I realized this could go on for awhile. How long? Well we are approaching a year. I will say she doesn't wear it every single day like she did for months but still at least 4-5 times a week.

So yesterday when she decided this was what she was wearing to church with thick winter striped tights I didn't bat an eye. I am used to this. Me the woman who is really into her girl's clothes. Who really likes things to match and look appropriate for the seasons. Who actually gets more excited about their clothes than my own (almost). Thankfully Hailey wears whatever I tell her is cute. And Avery doesn't have too much of an opinion on it yet. So 2 out of 3 I get to dress. Not bad. And I figure- how much longer will she be this free? Free to dress how she wants without caring what others think. That is a freedom most of us don't have-so how can I take it away? It is what makes Karis Rachael who she is. And I think everyone is used to it...as none of the parents or teachers in her Sunday School class yesterday batted an eye either. Although she did get some, "You are so adorable" comments....

Soccer Girl

I took the camera to Hailey's game on Saturday. I think she looks so grown up in her soccer uniform. Scott had to be the coach for the first few minutes- there he is out there with all 3 girls- it was quite cute. Hailey did well....she can keep up with all the kids but she isn't very aggressive. I guess that will come with time. Aunt Katie came and worked with her a bit yesterday- thanks Katie- she is a real soccer player so I am hoping she can pass some of her athletic talent on to our girls. Unfortunately I have no athletic ability. (In fact when I did the body test on my wii fitness it said, "You are rather unbalanced. Do you often find yourself tripping over things when you walk?" And I do!! I am very uncoordinated so I am really hoping by starting the girls early in sports they will be a bit more athletic than me. (I just got Karis signed up for Tiny Tots Soccer-that should be exciting.) Thankfully they have half of Scott's genes and he is much more.

We also noticed that Hailey seems to enjoy the time-outs during the game the most as she would always run up to the other little girls and start chatting and not be quite ready to start the game when it would resume. So apparently she got that gene from me....

Gabriel Visits!

So one of my bestest friends came to visit today- Heidi! She lives in Spokane and went to her in-laws in Yakima for the week and stopped at our house today. It was so fun to see her. She has a darling little boy- Gabriel. Isn't he so cute? The eyes, the cheeks- and he is so happy and fun to be with! The girls adored him- especially Karis. We tried to get a good photo of all 3 so I put the best up....umm...yeah....it was easier just to get him! And Heidi is pregnant with another little boy! Very exciting times for sure. Brian is in Iraq for another 2 months so pray for his safety and that the time goes quickly for all of them! I can't imagine having a 16 month old, being pregnant, and having my husband gone. Heidi- you are one amazing woman!! I love you Friend and thanks for spending the day with us!! Although it always makes me miss her more but with our Yakima connection we at least know we will get to see each other again soon!!

The other photos are of the girls- I have been practicing with my new lens. It is hard to get more than one child and it not be blurry for some reason. But I thought I would post some anyway because the girlies were so expressive.

Black Drops...Black Drops....

So I was busy doing something today and I kept hearing Karis in her little sing-song voice saying, "Black drops, Black drops". I decided to look and see what she was doing....I should have known. She had a paint brush with black paint and was walking along the family room singing Black Drops as little black drops of paint covered the floor. I said, "Karis! Come here and get a wash cloth and clean that up." (You know...trying to incorporate some of the Love and Logic principles.) So in her little sing-song voice because life is just one big party for Karis she said, "OK now I'm Cinderella...Clean the floor, wash the windows....."

Hailey is still loving school. She said she ate lunch with her new best friend. I said, "What is her name?" She said, "I don't know." I however am having a hard adjustment. I seriously did not know I would cry this much. Yesterday was the worst. I cried off and on all day and kept trying to hide it from the girls. But Karis would say, "Why are you talking in the crying voice again?" Anyway I am hoping this gets easier. I just miss her so much and feel like so many hours she is being raised by someone else now. And this is only the beginning......

Avery is excited for her Birthday. Whenever someone asks her how old she is turning she says, "5!" She's the smallest 5 year old I've ever seen! We are getting ready for her birdie Birthday party. I am making some favors so will blog them later.....

Also we are so busy now...adjusting to this new school schedule, soccer, and then Kid's Club started tonight. A really fun program at our church. I volunteered to teach the Kindergarten class with my friend Kate. That way we could be with our kids! It was WILD tonight. But lots of fun! And next week starts our woman's Bible Study at church and I am leading a mom's group again. I am just praying Avery will stay in the childcare. When she was young I could lead with her in the sling or front pack but come on now..she is 2...it would be too hard. So all you prayers out there pray that she doesn't scream and cry Tuesday morning!! And if she does that the teacher is willing to work with her and not page me right away. I am thinking that is the only way it will work because once she realizes I can be paged she will never stay. So I have to be the cold-hearted mom this week and leave her crying. Very hard to do but as Ruthie our pastor's wife said, "Otherwise you will be held hostage the rest of your life." OK rambling now.....going to bed......

Quick Update

So Hailey LOVED school. I was expecting her to be really tired and grouchy as many moms have warned me of this...but not today...totally wound up and excited although she did say, "We didn't get to learn to read or write yet." I asked her who she played with at recess and she said, "My new friends." I said, "What are their names?" She replied, "I don't know." Maybe tomorrow she will learn. She ate her lunch fine, went potty with her buddy fine, got to check out a book at the library, loved her teacher, and said the whole day was fun and that she wants to go back everyday. That's a good thing...because she will be.....
I was so relieved that when she got home I cried when I hugged her. This parenting stuff is emotional!! And boy was Karis thrilled- they played and played and played. I heart these girlies so much!!
Scott and I were talking and he was saying how he was nervous all day too and just kept praying for her. It felt like we were both back in school..those first day jitters. After school Scott got off early and went to meet the teacher and then took her to ice-cream. It was good for them to spend some one-on-one time together like that and Hailey really enjoyed it.
We laid out her outfit for tomorrow as I explained that one of the most fun things about going to school was picking out what you get to where the next day....all the new clothes from Gamma....too fun!

"May You Please Leave Now?"

Yes that is how Hailey handled her first morning at school. While I was fighting back tears and Karis and Avery were dumping every single puzzle into the toy shopping cart Hailey was sitting at the table doing activities and rather confidently talking to a little girl. She looks up at me and says, "May you please leave now?" I said, "I think I am supposed to stay until the story is over." And she said, "Why?" So for the last week I have dreaded this moment, cried over this moment, stayed awake at night thinking about this it was actually rather anti-climatic. Hailey was in heaven. Loving all the activities, the kids, the teacher. I loved how confident she seemed. I could tell she was so ready for this. The rest of us are not though....Karis has been awful...whiny, crying, moping around. Avery has been throwing fits over little things. I have had a headache. I guess we just all need to adjust to not having her around during the day.

I just hope she is having so much fun and I can't wait to hear all about it. Scott is picking her up from school and then taking her to get a treat so I will have to wait until around 4 I imagine. That's a long time. I just keep thinking as she is in school all day that these are days and hours I will never get back. But that is part of growing up, they are supposed to do this, they are supposed to become independent of us, I just never realized how hard it would be. But as time goes on it will become our new normal and I think we will all adjust fine. Now what to do with Karis all afternoon while Hailey is gone? That's another blog entry......

Huge Savings Alert!

This is what a receipt using 26 coupons looks like!

OK Everyone there are some great deals to be had at Albertsons if you aren't opposed to gogurts, toaster strudel, fruit snacks, and granola bars. I just spent $33.37 and saved $81.31 on the above items. Really they only cost around $28 because I bought $5 worth of other stuff. Heres how:

Go to boodle and clip the coupons for the items you want. You can do up to 2 of each.

Go to Fred Meyer and get the save $4 coupon out of their flyer for General Mills items and Nature Valley granola bars. I used 2.

Take them to Fred Meyer along with other coupons you have hopefully been clipping from the Sunday papers. I ended up using 26 coupons.

Go to Albertsons and make sure to buy in quantities of 10. Everytime you buy 10 you save an additional $5! Happy saving. With school starting I figured these were some great in the car breakfast items and lunch items!!

I Am Officially....

A soccer mom! That's what Becky told me last night and I realized it is true. Hailey started playing soccer this week. We went to her first practice Tuesday night and she looked so cute. She was a little shy at first so Scott ran out with her but by the end she was running with the kids, kicking the ball every which way and passing to others paying no attention to who she was supposed to be passing to. It was so cute and I kept thinking she looked so old out there. Her first game is this Saturday!

Yeee Haaa

Is that even how you spell it? I am not much of a rodeo person...anyway the rodeo came to town. I believe this is the biggest event all year in E-burg. People come from all around to pay lots of money and sit in the wind and watch horses run around and bulls knock people down and things like that. As you can tell we weren't one of those people but we have heard it can be quite fun. Maybe some day...anyway we did go to the parade and that was tons of fun!! Tons of horses and rodeo princesses from all over which thrilled Karis. And tons of candy. Seriously almost as much as Halloween and it was way easier than trick-or-treating!!

The parade started out on a somber note with a police officer and an empty horse with a banner saying in memory of Nelson Ng. People stood and clapped and many had tears in their eyes-us included. Then the Christian school had a float with "In loving memory of Nelson Ng" on the back. It was really neat.

After the parade I took the older girls to the fair while Scott kept Avery at home. She is too small to do rides and I thought it would be cruel to have her sit and watch. Plus she needed a nap and Scott wanted to work in the yard. Well our friend Brian put it this way: "I don't see county fair and Abby Hoefer going real well together, smells of manure, dirt everywhere....." And he was right. It was really windy and cold so dust was literally flying in our faces and eyes. Like 40 mile an hour gusts of wind. So we got in line and did a few rides much to my chagrin. This is the first year the girls have ever done rides!! I can't stand to waste $3 per ride per girl!! I say we save the money and go to Disneyland. But this year somehow they knew about rides so we let them do a few and they loved it!! It was really cute how excited they were. Karis was waving like a princess.

Right before we left was when the cell phone incident occurred so I had no cell phone. Well as we are standing waiting for the airplane ride I look down and notice a large puddle. Funny...there was no rain....and I noticed Karis' legs had something running down them....she wet her pants!! This is the girl who has been potty-trained for over 2 years and hasn't had an accident in probably a year. So I had no extra clothes and no cell phone to call Scott. I literally had to borrow a cell phone from a kind stranger and call Scott to bring clothes but he couldn't bring any until Avery woke up. Karis was unphased by all of this though and still had a good time in her wet clothes and muddy-pee-shoes. I was horrified. Then we shared an elephant ear- yummy and then looked at some animals. I also bought them cotton candy but they only ate a little. I finished it off for them. Then Scott was going to join us but by that time we were freezing and done so home we went.....quite the event.....