Kristiana 7 months

Hard to believe our little girl is already 7 months old... makes me want to freeze time and cherish this stage just a little longer! This last month we have seen her personality develop a little more. Mainly she is a very happy, smiley baby... however, we are noticing that she gets angry whenever there is a toy or something she can't reach. She clenches her fists and tightens her face than, screams! She is now rolling from her belly to back also (which she just started yesterday) and is always quite proud of herself! She is also beginning to do what I call the "booty rock"... using her knees to get her bottom in the air and using her toes to inch herself forward. She's figuring out how to crawl! She enjoys hanging out in her walker and keeping me company while I cook in the kitchen... and she keeps her siblings busy giving her back the toys that she throws on the floor. She has also found a new love for grabbing hair, glasses, necklaces etc.! At her check-up last week she weighed 18.4 lbs... well above where she should be.

Since I can't freeze time, I am cherishing every moment with her in this fun baby stage. And, am thankful for our happy, healthy baby girl!

Snow

On Sunday the snow began to fall... by Monday morning it was still coming down hard! This was our first big snowfall this winter... I love the beauty of the snow; it's even better from inside the warmth of my house! The kids were so excited and could hardly wait to go outside and build their snowman. Casey was the chosen parent to go out to help them :)

Daddy, the kids and Mr Snowman

I dug through the cupboards and found 2 chocolate cookies for his eyes and leftover Halloween Candy Corn for his mouth... which, Jessie later found to be a delicious snack! Funny, she wouldn't touch his carrot nose....

Blackie sat inside watching the happiness going on outside... she meowed the whole time as if wanting to be out there with them!

Now that Kristiana knows how to roll over she does it all the time! If I lay her on her back she will roll over within a matter of minutes or, even seconds... and she is always so proud of herself! For a baby that has had a big distaste for being on her tummy, she is now on it all the time :) Goodbye are the days of leaving her to lay on our bed or the couch! And, she is also very grabby and reaches for everything... her siblings are now learning not to leave any of their small toys within her reach. Today she got a hold of a magazine and had a page ripped to little pieces before I caught her... of course, she thought she was SO funny... little stinker! Also, her two bottom teeth have finally pushed through and I can feel a little sharpness on one of them.

Chore Paks

During the holidays and Christmas break I became a little too relaxed with the kid's daily routine and they seemed to be watching t.v. in accessive amounts! So, this week we began what I like to call "boot camp" which, is really something to get ME back on track! I also began a new chores system for Tys and Katie and, they are totally loving it! I am using what's called the "chore pack"system... used by a few larger popular families ie. the Duggars and the Maxwells. It is a little plastic pack with "chore cards" in them and, there is a clip for each child to clip on their clothes and carry the pack around with them as they do their chores. Each card has a different chore listed (which I made) so they can take the cards out and see what chore needs to be done. Since Katie is learning to read I have gone over each card with her but, she is pretty much reading (memorizing) each card herself. I still help Tys. But, its a good way to also teach him how to sound out the words. Their cards include every day chores and ones that they do on specific days with me:
Katie's daily pack includes:
School Homework
Brush Teeth
Make Bed
Clean Bathroom (she wipes the sink. I clean the bathroom once a week)
Practice Piano
Empty Dishwasher (with me and Tys)
Laundry (with me and Tys. We fold a load and they put their clothes away. Tys and Katie than put the clothes from the washer to the dryer and I put a new load in the washer)

Tys' daily pack includes:
Brush Teeth
Make Bed
Feed Cat
Empty Dishwasher
Laundry
Empty Bathroom Garbage

Weekly we work together and Dust & Vaccuum

So far, the system has been working out great! Upon waking up they have their juice than get to work. We can pretty much have everything done by breakfast time... it's also nice to have them dressed and ready for school in a good amount of time. Trenton has his own little chores that he helps me with but I don't feel is quite ready for the chore pack yet.... T.V. is no longer allowed during the day and is for special family movie nights or special occassions when they have a babysitter. The first couple days of t.v. "detox" was a little tough but now they don't even ask for it... and, Trent no longer sits on the couch, waiting for the t.v. to turn on and crying "t.v. boken"! lol Once their chores are done they can play with their toys or games or, their electronic games.

We have enjoyed spending more time together as a family.. playing games and reading books. AND, the kids are happy to be rewarded for their hard work on PAYDAY :)

The kids and I hanging out last night... Trenton was exhausted and fell asleep early!

Rolling

Kristiana rolled over for the first time today! She is quite proud of herself :) I have mixed feelings about this new milestone as my baby is growing way too fast and her rolling means we're moving into the next phase of "mobility"! However, watching her learn new things is so very exciting!!

A few random photos from the last couple of weeks... Kristiana is always such a happy baby whenever her daddy's around... a true daddy's girl!

morning time snuggles with my baby (guess she kind of likes me too!! hee hee)

Yesterday morning Katie got to practice sewing with her new Hello Kitty sewing machine... a gift from my parents for her birthday. Her first project was a sleeping bag for her baby doll.

Trenton LOVES playing with his Thomas the Train set... while his older siblings are at school, he will spend the afternoon "chugging" Percy and Thomas up and down the railroad track!

Yesterday morning we woke up to a layer of snow on the ground. The kids bundled up and spent a good hour making snowballs and snow angels.

Kristiana loves to play a game of throwing her toys off the highchair. She thinks it's the funniest whenever we're eating dinner and spend our whole mealtime picking up her toys!

Hawaiian Party

Yesterday we celebrated Katie's birthday with a Hawaiian party... she had been planning her "hoola doola party" for about a year! 7 of her girlfriends came and they had fun dancing in their Hawaiian outfits, playing games and eating yummy chocolate cake! Our Hawaiian Princess!

Surfer Boy and Hawaiian Princess

Katie and Rylee

This year's birthday cake included 5 Polly's having a fun time on the Hawaiian beach!

7 little giggling girls dancing the Hula

Jolena and Katie...

Good Times.....

Taylor and Katie

Katie 6 years old

Happy Birthday Katie Rose!!
This year Katie celebrated a very special birthday... she was born on 1.06.06 and turned 6 years old!! Her birthday was yesterday but, had her Hawaiian birthday party today. Yesterday morning she got to open 2 presents than, in the evening she got to open the rest of her presents from us and her grandparents. Uncle Joe also came over for dinner (Katie's birthday dinner request was chicken, rice and corn!) and we enjoyed dessert of ice cream cones and cookies.

Katie has grown so much over this last year... not just physically but also mentally and spiritually. I enjoy her questions about "life" and God; she has a true love for Him and deep concern and love for her family and friends. It's been a blessing to watch her learn how to read, play the piano, help me in the kitchen and help me care for her baby sister. She has advanced in so many ways! It's hard to believe she's already 6 years old... feels like just yesterday that we meeting her for the first time... amazed that we were parents of such a beautiful baby girl. Katie's infectious laughter and tender heart has brought us so much joy!

Kristiana 6 months old

6 months old ~ Kristiana is such a wonderful baby!! Casey and I often comment how happy she always is and brings so much joy to our family! She very rarely has a "fussy time" and usually only cries when she's tired or hungry. She is very content to play in her entertainer or, on the floor and, watch her siblings as they are play nearby. She LOVES when they play beside her or talk to her. She is also very grabby now and will grab for anything within her reach... and, of course, everything goes in her mouth. We all love to tickle her or make silly faces to make her laugh... she has the most beautiful belly laugh! She loves her mama but, is truly a "daddy's girl" at heart. All Casey has to do is look at her and she gives him the biggest, brightest smiles!
Kristiana has yet to roll over and doesn't show any desire to do so... we all keep waiting and watching but she is happy just as she is! This last week I've put her through "baby bootcamp" and began getting her on a better sleeping schedule at night. She is a cat-napper during the day so you'd think she'd want to sleep all night. Not so. At 6 months old, she was still waking up anywhere from 3-4 times a night to eat. Yes, she's a little piggy! So, after a couple of tough nights she only woke up 2 times last night (1am and 4:30am) yay! I actually felt like I had gotten a little sleep!!
Kristiana's 1st Christmas

Out and about at the Winter-All-A-Glow...

such a big girl sitting up all by herself (with the help of a few pillows!)

hanging out with her big brother

Trenton's 3rd birthday

We celebrated Trenton's 3rd birthday while in Boise over Christmas break. Since he shares a birthday with Baby Jesus, the kids know that we celebrate Jesus' birthday on Christmas and Trenton's birthday the day after. Or in this year's case, we celebrated a little before and a little after :) We are SO thankful for our Ren-Man and, the laughter that he brings to our family. He's such an energetic boy that keeps us all on our toes! He has a love for Thomas the Train, cars & monster trucks and, always wants to play with his siblings. He is also a wonderful big brother to Kristiana and likes to give her gentle kisses on the top of her head. Happy Birthday Trenton, we love you! On the Friday before Christmas mom and I took the kids to Red Robin for Trenton's birthday lunch. He was SO surprised when the staff sang "Happy Birthday" to him and he loved his ice cream sundae and balloons!

On the Monday after Christmas, we celebrated his birthday at a kiddie entertainment place called WaHooz... there were all sorts of games, little rides to ride and a brand new FUN, kid- friendly bowling alley. We invited my parents, Jake and Kristal and, friend Colleen and her 3 boys to join us there....

Monday evening we had pizza for dinner and Trenton got to open his presents and, eat Thomas the Train ice cream cake!!

His very own bike!