Long eyes!

I just updated Evan's 3 Month report (a few posts down) so you can read that if you're interested. I'll be posting his 4 Month report soon considering he turned 4 months on Friday!

Today Krista headed off for a 2 day field trip to the mountains with her class. We bought her a sleeping bag and rain boots a few weekends ago so she was all set for this a.m! She is really looking forward to her field trip. The will be back tomorrow night, so tonight it just the three. She took her new camera *an early birthday present, so I'm sure we'll have some wonderful pictures when she returns!

The "long eyes" is a funny story. Kaitlyn keeps saying how Baby Evan has such PRETTY, LONG EYES!!! She'll come up and say "Look at his LONG eyes Mommy, they're so pretty!".... So I decided to take a few pictures of his long eyes. He has the longest eyelashes for a baby his age. When he was only a few days old he already had long lashes, but there was ONE single eyelash that was at least twice as long as the others..it was really funny. Now that they've darkened they are really beautiful. I tried to get a few close ups while he was sleeping.

CLICK photo to see for yourself!!

Santa Claus gives you PRESENTS!

REALLY, he gives you PRESENTS!!!!!! Kaitlyn got the idea this year. I got a funny clip of her talking about it SO seriously. HE GIVES YOU PRESENTS!!!!! We laughed so hard at how she was SO sure about this!!!!

Kaitlyn Can Sing!!!!

Well this is funny, but Kaitlyn knows how to sing!!! She REALLY can. Her vocabulary pretty darn big for a 13 month old too! She can sing "Happy Birthday to You" and has even started singing the A,B,C song also!! Here is a little clip of Kaitlyn singing "Happy Birthday." It was taken 3 days ago on her 13 month birthday. She DID NOT want to sing for the camera, and put up a bit of a battle, but we got it. She is usually very happy to sing, except when I force her!!! Part I is ME singing the song to get her into the mood and Part II is Kaitlyn singing a few verses!!! You have to listen pretty hard but it is there :)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Face Flop

Little Kaitlyn still has a lot of learning to do! Right now she isn't very mobile, but with each passing day she is getting closer and closer. As far as her mobility goes, she is able to play on her stomach and turn 360 degrees and has quite a long reach to get objects she really wants. When on a smoother surface and sitting, she can sort of scoot forward also. My favorite is the face flop. To her credit, she does only do this when on the bed as she knows it is soft and will get her within inches of something she wants. It is funny!

Never to early to learn CPR

Kaitlyn has mastered mouth-to mouth resuscitation. She is practicing this essential CPR component on her doll latey. It is the funniest thing to watch! In reality though she is actually trying to EAT the doll's face. I could say that in the picture she is just giving her dolly a kiss, but if you ever *saw* her do it you'd know that she was really trying to devour the poor baby doll. Why, you might ask? Well tooth #5, her upper lateral incisor has just cut through. I'm sure #6 is not far behind. Lets hope these are easier on her than her previous pearlies!!

Baby Hair, Baby Teeth and Baby Nose...

FOUR baby teeth.... (See photo) Looking cuter and cuter with those pearly whites :)One teeny tiny, precious button nose...EXCEPT when your big sister puts a funny costume on you. (See photo)And still....NOT much hair! We have a little baby baldy on our hands. She has a more reddish cast though with the fuzz she has (I'd say a dark strawberry blonde). She also has what Erik calls "vampire" hair....and Krista call's "Mikey Mouse" hair (ie. a widow's peak). It's as soft as can be-- just like velvet!

The New Car Seat and Funny Story

So HOORAY, we found a carseat! We have a pretty particular situation because I REFUSE to let any of the kids ride in the front seat of my car (the airbag cannot be turned off). Our backseat only has 2 shoulder belts and the seat in the middle is only a lap belt. Krista and Erik of course need the lap and shoulder combo belt because their carseats --which are essentially padded boosters, use the belt from the car (so they need the shoulder part). Kaitlyn is now in the carrier and the base fortunately takes just the lap belt so she is in the middle. Anyway, after trips to 3 baby stores I have learned that you can only find carseats for the ISOFIX system which we don't have, or a lap/shoulder belt combo. They simply no longer sell the carseats that can be attached with just the lap belt (which they DID have only last year). So, after finding that out I was worried that we'd need a new car.BUT THEN, I stumbled upon a WONDERFUL carseat made by BRITAX (very esteemed manufacturer of seats) and it was available ONLY by mail and comes from Belgium! So we got the new seat and it looks FANTASTICLY safe! It is very padded and is designed for installation with EITHER the lapbelt or the lap/shoulder combo! We tried it out in the car and it has a very snug and srong fit. So, until Kaitlyn hits 18 kg we are set (we have a good 3.5 years to go until that happens)!

Oh and a funny story about the positioning of the seats in the car too--- A few months ago we were talking about family order and that Erik has now become the middle child. We really didn't think the kids were listening while we talked about this but they were!!! Anyway, upon hearing that he was the "middle" child, Erik blurted out-- "I'm NOT the middle child! KAITLYN is the middle child".... We explained to him that no, infact he IS the middle child and he said "NO!!! Kaitlyn is in the middle seat in the car!" And here they are....According to Erik's theory- Kaitlyn is INDEED the middle child!

A Family of Identical Twins

Double the Fun!!



















I thought this was funny! This is what we would look like if we were a family of identical twins.

We went to the aquarium last week in Obernai and had a blast. One of the rooms had an enormous tank filled with sharks that was in a room of mirrors. The effect was really amazing. You felt like you were underwater yourself! You also got to see what your kids would look like if they had been identical twins!!!

And finally...Kaitlyn with her twin sister!

The Protest!

We're making progress (I think?)... According to the widely read parents handbook "What to Expect The First Year" Kaitlyn is developing new skills. Okay, I confess, it wasn't one of the skills I was hoping she'd acquire so quickly....but she did.. and I must say, in this category she is very advanced for her age!!! You may now be wondering and what is that new skill? That skill, ladies and gents is called "The Protest"....and my little baby girl has mastered it, down to a tee. In her defense this is a necessary skill to have in a house with two older and stronger siblings...it's simply survial of the fittest.

I am now going to share with you photos that have recently been concealed. This "first protest" was way back in early October...at the young age of 5 months and 4 days. You see...according to the book, she would be considered advanced even if she acquired this skill only in her SIXTH month, but infact at a wee 5 months she already had it down pat!

Excerpt, photos and video to follow....

You can see the text...."may possibly be able to:" ****OBJECT if toy is taken away

So, here we are....5 Months and 4 days: The first protest, over a paper cone. It was a LARGE and exciting kid-suprise cone and she just simply WANTED it....

The most recent protest was a few nights ago...this time the culprit--a "Yu-Gi-Oh" card. Some may not know what this means, but to a 4-10 year old a "Yu-Gi-Oh" card is worth GOLD...and apparently to Kaitlyn also. Toomas made the mistake of giving her the card which she realized she loved and NEEDED. Enter stage left: Erik, who wanted HIS card back (so he swiped it away)!!! Result---a VERY unhappy baby, exhibiting her new "objection" skills. Enter stage right: Krista who shows Kaitlyn a toy in attempt to cheer her up (which fails miserably). Screams now are becoming piercing to the ear. We need help and fast!!! Krista then yells out "WAIT, I'll go get one of MY Yu-Gi-Oh cards"!! Result: COMPLETE satisfaction for Kaitlyn and demonstration of SUPREME objection skills.

A Bouncing Baby Girl!!

Well, little Kaitlyn has decided to take flight. She is no longer content to sit quietly in her bouncy chair and play with the toys. It is much more fun to get moving....and that she did! I was in the office and heard a big commotion in the kitchen and low and behold the bouncy chair was taking flight. If you look really hard (at the beginning of the clip) you can see that the bouncy seat is actually leaving the ground! I told our doctor about this and he said to stock up on concrete so we can bolt it to the floor. She sure loves getting it going---WAAAY too much fun!

A Baby Belly-Laugh

There's NOTHING cuter than a baby's belly...well okay, maybe one thing....a baby's belly-laugh! So here we are--a photo of Kaitlyn's 5 month old chubby baby belly and a clip of her 5 month old baby belly-laugh. Enjoy!