not quite ourselves

 Crazy as it is Kassi, Emmy, Ally, and I ALL tested Positive for Strep Throat this week.  Yuck.  It's made things a little undone here.  I was reminded of the exhaustion (that purely drained feeling) and the headaches that come with the sore throat.  The first time I felt it in my adult life was last October.  I think Kassi is the carrier of our family.  I went 25 years without Strep until Kassi came along...  :)

 Emmy was HILARIOUS this morning!

 

Daddy comes into the bedroom wearing his biking clothes which includes a neon green biking shirt.

Emmy:  Dad, you look awful!  You can't go outside like that!

Dad:  Why not?

Emmy:  You will scare people.  Your shirt is ugly!

 

Emmy has been wearing that Rapunzel dress almost every day for the last two weeks.

Say Cheese

On March 3, we were sitting in sacrament meeting as always and feeding our kids various snacks.  Kassi was going through a cheese liking stage so I was feeding her a cheese stick.   I didn't realize that she had grabbed one of Sami's Bible Hero playing cards and put it in her mouth until it was too late.  The card came out of her mouth with chewed up cheese all over one end of it.  I tried to grab it from her to prevent a mess but my reaching for the card caused her to jerk it away from me.  Cheese went flying!!  All over our pew and all over the poor couple sitting on the pew behind us in their designer suite and dress.... oops.  Needless to say, they haven't sat near us again since.  The man was thoroughly disgusted.  Oh well!

 

These were taken that same morning:

 

A little bit of this and that

My Little helpers...

 Emmy has become my super helper!  She still loves to get into mischief but she is also great at helping me make dinner, clean, and set the table.  Kassi...not so much.  She just likes to make messes.  :)  She army crawls around the house--yes, STILL won't pick that tummy up off the floor!--and gets into as much as she can.

Beautiful.  Even when pouting.

Ally's become our story-teller (even if it's not her story!).  She always has something to talk about and has really turned into a chatter-box!  She shares stories that she heard at school, she tells me stories about her teachers or friends that Sami just finished telling me about hers, and she tells me about her day in general.  She's a doll! 

Oh!  And Ally has a loose tooth.  It's been very loose for almost a week but she won't let me pull it out.  Silly girl.

Kassi's absolute favorite thing to do is laugh at people!  Sami is great at making her laugh.  And Kassi enjoys teasing--especially Emmy.  Emmy doesn't find it funny, but Kassi sure does!  One day the two girls were riding in a double stroller and Kassi kept poking at Emmy.  It was obvious that Emmy didn't appreciate being poked at but Kassi kept going and laughed her head off every time Emmy complained.

***********

 

The New Do!

Sami recently got her hair cut and I think it made her look way too old!  She came walking away from the stylist and I was shocked at how grown-up she'd become in just 20 minutes.  She's turning ten soon...it makes me sad.

I'm very proud of the young woman she is becoming.  Her school had a Science and Math Olympiad the other day.  Sami took first in Barge Building but gave up her spot and the chance to go to the District competition because her friend (second place) was sad about not being able to go.  She is so concerned for the happiness of others, she would rather they get the reward.  I have to admit, she's a better person than I am.  But I've known that from the moment she was born.  I felt the wisdom of her spirit just looking in her eyes.

 

Funny Emmy One-Liners of Late

 

After helping me put her clothes away:

"I am an excellent child!"

 

When running the circle in the house and squeezing past me while I was trying to grab something from the fridge:

"Excuse me Lady!"

 

While scribbling on a piece of paper as I handed her breakfast and said in exasperation:

"Mom, your bugging me!  I have to concentrate on my homework!"

 

Just for the record, we do not allow this kind of talk in our home--my actual homework doers have never said this to me--and Emmy was immediately reminded of the correct way to speak to her mother, but I got a really good laugh out of it as soon as I walked away.

 

 

 

 



TEN MONTHS!!

Kassi turned TEN months already!  Whahhhhhh!!!  It makes me so sad to see my little baby growing up so fast!  Kassi is incredible, though!  In the last month, Kassi learned how to clap and she got her second tooth, took two road trips, and learned how to drink out of a straw.  Coming home from one road trip, she went 12 hours in the car with only two short breaks!!  She was so good.  She won't pick up her pot-belly off the floor so she's still army crawling, but she is starting to figure out standing next to things.  I'm beginning to think we may skip crawling all together.  She loves to laugh and give kisses and splash and sleep and hold her binki.  She loves smiling and flirting with people, but from a distance.  Don't try to take this kid out of her mommy's arms unless you are Daddy or Sami or you will see her wrath.  :)  I just adore her so much. 

Kassi is 9 months!

I seriously can't believe that Kassi is already three-quarters of the way to a year!! 

How crazy is that?!!!

At her doctor's appointment she weighed in at only 15 lbs 8 oz (I was really hoping for a pound more...) dropping her to the third percentile!  I guess she's one of mine after all...   :)
Kassi was very busy during her ninth month of life! 

Here are some of the things she managed:

Kassi
-got her first tooth!
-learned to army crawl!
-started imitating noises and actions--especially those done by her sisters or musical sounds. (sometimes, when everyone is trying to talk to me at once, she'll make random noise just to add to the commotion)
-plays peek-a-boo on her own!
-learned to pinch food and feed herself and now prefers that over the baby spoon.
-now downs a bottle in one sitting.
-teases! (she's become a pro at the drop things on the floor game and when I try to put her to bed before she wants, she spits out her binkie and laughs at me)
-splashes in the bath!!
-giggles at the most random things (when I push the shopping cart, when someone walks into the room, when she sees a book...)
-TALKS!!!  Her first word was "mama" but she's added  "dada," "baba, and "nana" AND she waves and says "bye-bye" and "nigh-night."
-snuggles with her bunny lovey and holds her binkie in her hand while she sleeps (sometimes she has a binkie in both hands).
-loves music and dances with her hands (even during Sacrament).
-SINGS along with anything

-mastered the ear-piercing scream but she doesn't use is when she's mad, she just likes to make noise.

The Lived-In Look

Yesterday:

Ok, life has been rather nutty here lately (thus my lack of blogging time) and part of that is due to the fact that we are refinancing.  Today was the appraisal and since our home is older but updated, they insisted on doing a walk-through.  I have worked so hard to make my home as clean and open feeling as possible.  I made the girls a deal that if they wouldn't mess up a room after I cleaned it, they could have a banana split tonight (which they are currently counting down to) and was able to get the house looking pretty good by the time the appraiser showed up this morning.  After he left, I had an internal war over relaxing and trying to keep the house nice for just 24 more hours.  Relaxation won for the most part.  Aside from my usual Tuesday errands and chores, I took time to sit with my girls, read, and rest a little.  Now, however, it's been just a few hours and here is what has happened to my beautifully clean home: 

The dining room chairs are on their side.

The kitchen counter is covered with groceries, peels, paper, and dishes.

There are backpacks, jackets, and shoes thrown about the entry way.

There are stuffed toys and clothes all over the floor of the girls' bedroom and on the floor of my dining room.

The throw pillows in the living room have all been repositioned to the middle of the floor.

There is a cookie crumbled into the family room carpet.

Crayons, paper, books, and dolls are strewn about.

Kassi's toy box is dumped all over.

There is folded but not put away laundry on the couch (okay, that one is my bad...)

The kitchen floor is littered with mango peels, cut-up paper, used paper towels, and torn apart pizza.

Dirty clothes cover the girls' bathroom floor.

 

Today:

 

My home has returned to it's usual state of 'organized disorder' and reminds me of a poem in the book I'm currently reading.  The book, "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio," is a true story about a woman who raised ten children during the "contest era" of the 1950's and 1960's.  She paid bills and provided for her kids' needs by winning jingle contests and selling poems and short stories.  One of the poems she sold was written when she still had six kids at home and I just love it.  I think it seems all too fitting for any home with active children:

 

Real Thing

She tosses a pillow,

Poses a book,

To give her home

That lived-in look.

[My] children spare me

Such sly biz:

My home looks lived-in

'Cause it IS!

 

 

P.S.  Kassi discovered last night that she LOVES Banana Splits!