Kateisms





These first Kate-isms come from when Kate was just a little over two years old:

Aaron was playing with Kate by pretending to eat her. She laughed a couple times then stopped and said, “Hey! I’m not lunch!”

Taking a cue from her cousins, Kate liked to play 'little person' by pulling her shirt over her legs and walking around. While she did this she sang “I’m a midgen! I'm a midgen!” (midget)

Kate loved to take her water bottle to bed and when getting tucked in always asked, "where's my wai-ya bai-yo?”

I thought she looked so cute this day eating her yogurt with her crown on.



Kate LOVES dress-ups. She got so excited when she found new dress-ups at her cousin's house.

Kate went through a phase of loving to "lead" while I sang.

Another phase involved her grabbing my hands and saying, "let's marry ourselves!" which meant we danced around in a circle for a minute.

When I took her for bathroom breaks at church, she immediately sensed the acoustics in the bathroom and always sang at the top of her lungs while in the stall. Usually it was the entire theme song from "Jake and the Neverland Pirates."

Once we were playing "Hi-Ho Cherry-O" and when Kate won she exclaimed, "Honey Nut Cheerios!"

Kate LOVES her baby brother Rex.  Whenever he cries, she rushes to him right away and sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and 9 times out of 10 it actually works!

I said she likes dress-ups...right?  She is specifically modelling her earings for me in this shot.

And these are a little more recent:

Kate LOVES nursery, and always asks if it’s time to go there after every discernable pause in sacrament meeting. I feel so bad when she gets excited after the opening song and I know she still has such a long way to go.

Everyone comments on Kate's 'little' voice. It is so high-pitched, scratchy and cute. When she started speaking, she learned very quickly and has always been quite the little conversationalist. She is super friendly and talks to anyone and everyone. Her latest exchange with a library employee is an example of a typical conversation with a stranger (when Aaron or I are present of course):
Kate: Hi! I'm Kate! What's your name?
Employee: My name's Darren.
Kate: Oh! Where's your sister? (meaning the other employee that does story time)
Employee: My sister? Well, she lives in Michigan. (meaning his actual sister of course)
Kate: Oh! ... My mom calls me Snugglebug.

Kate has always been very expressive. She was trying to look tough for Tom while showing him her pirate tatoo.

Kate loves to sit in Rex's infant car seat.  One late night at Megan's, I found her like this in front of the TV. Made putting her in the car super easy!

Darth Kate.   I love how it looks like she is trying to use the force to squish our heads.

Kate loves the part at the end of "Gnomeo and Juliette" where a gnome pops out of a pile of rubble and says, "It's OK! I'm OK!" and if she is reminded of it, she says that phrase like a broken record all.day.long.

Kate CAN NOT get enough ranch dressing and would eat it with every meal if we let her. Seriously. The other day she asked me for ranch for her fries. I said yes.

Kate can often be heard exclaiming, "What the?!"

It's so nice when your kids exchange compliments with you. That happened just a few days ago after dinner:
Me: Hey, great job eating your dinner Kate! You did such a good job!
Kate: Yeah! Thanks! Sometimes I call you stupid.

It is not uncommon for Kate to roll around for an hour+ before she falls asleep at night. One night Aaron went to check on her, again: Aaron: You still awake sweetie?
Kate: Yeah, my barbies are snuggling...Tiana's naked.
Yep, she was naked all right. Just her. I guess that's better than all of them.

The Worst Day of Aaron's Life

Anyone that knows Aaron knows he is no stranger to spicy food. I used to get annoyed every time he pulled the hot sauce out...again...to put on his supper, but now I've just accepted that his palate is burned off.

Enter "Sean's BBQ Ghost Pepper Challenge" in Saratoga Springs.  Aaron had been wanting to try it for a long time, and back in March he got his chance.  He had to make it through 8 wings that were covered in a ghost pepper sauce and then coated in a ghost pepper powder.  We'd heard stories of others that merely got one wing to their lips and had to quit, but they must have been total wimps...right?  If he made it through them all, we got our money back, and Aaron's picture would be posted in the restaurant's Hall of Fame.  Andrea's fam joined us for the show, and Aaron was pumped up and ready for the challenge.  Here's how the whole thing went down:

The beginning.

The gloves are on.

Wing #1.

No big thang! Checking to make sure he ate enough meat off the bone.

Wing #2. Time to get serious.

That was rough.

Wing #3. Hunkering down.

Starting to feel nauseated.

Tears ahoy.

Wing #4

Trying to rally, not sure he can handle anymore.

More tears

Really feeling sick now.

Seriously...he almost threw up right here.

Thumbs down.

Where's the exit?!

So, turns out, ghost peppers are known as the hottest peppers in the world.  We're talking a thousand times hotter than a habanero.  Aaron also went into the challenge with an empty stomach, which we think greatly contributed to the nausea and aftermath later.  As soon as they took the "Wall of Shame" photo, he took off like a shot and left the restaurant for some fresh air.  I followed him to make sure he was ok, but he was nowhere to be seen.  He told me later that he sprinted away as fast as he could, it was the only thing he could do to get his mind off the pain!! When he came back, they gave him two giant cups of milk and we got some ice cream at a nearby shop. Little did we know the worst part was yet to come.

Aaron describes the next few hours as the worst pain he has ever felt in his life.  Seriously. No exageration. That chicken worked it's way through his system like a school of piranhas swimming in hot lava.  He chugged two whole bottles of Maalox. He was pacing the floor one minute, crawling on all fours the next, writhing in absolute agony.  We almost went to the emergency room.  He was in and out of the bathroom all night long, where the piranhas dove out from both ends.  When it was finally over, he was utterly exhausted. He took the next day off work and was a slug all day long. 

He has vowed to never do extreme food challenges again. I think the wings cost $13.75, and I was complaining about how we paid real money for food that nearly killed him.  He said $13.75 was a small price to pay for a valuable life lesson. He has since said he wouldn't do that again, even if someone offered him ten thousand dollars.  A million dollars?  He might consider it.

Finn's in School!

 Finn started going to pre-school in January of this year. Isn't he the cutest little student ever?

We were lucky enough to get him into a program that busses him to and from school, 5 days a week from 12:30-3:30 -- it is awesome! Since Kate and Rex nap at the same time in the afternoon, I usually get at least one hour to myself which has done wonders for my emotional well-being.

He has always been good with letters, but his love for reading and writing has grown even more and he has acquired a lot of new skills! Every day he comes home with some new little craft in his backpack. It makes me happy.

 His cousin Gemma is in his class which has made the whole experience more fun.  These two really are inseparable.  These are some shots I took of them on backwards day and crazy hair day.

Kate loves to walk with us to the bus and is always a little sad to see her brother go, but is consoled by the fact that Finn gets home by the time she wakes up from her nap.  I can't believe he only has a month left! In the fall, he'll be starting kindergarten. It's funny how I am so excited for him, and so sad at the same time. I don't think I have ever felt those two emotions at the same time before.  I can't wait to help him on this journey, yet I don't want him to leave. I guess I'll just add that to the list of feelings that come with motherhood, and do the best I can to nurture him where he is, and always encourage him onward. So proud of this little man!

The Best Dog in the World

Anyone else want to sing the title of this post to the tune of that Tenacious D song? Just me?...ok moving on...

Our faithful German Shepherd, Cleo, passed away suddenly in February this year. And since she really was the best dog in the world, things just wouldn't be right unless she was somehow immortalized in blog-dom.

Cleo was only middle aged, and should have been with us for 6-8 more years. One night she started acting really lathargic, and when she got worse the next day, we took her to the vet and found out she had a tumor that ruptured. $1500 surgery to remove it and even then her life expectancy was a matter of months, so we decided to put her down. It was so sad to lose her so suddenly!

I won't go on and on about her, but I need to document just how amazing she really was:

She knew 50+ commands, and was very obedient

She didn't slobber at all, and never chewed on anything that wasn't hers. We bought her some rawhide bones for Christmas once, and she wouldn't even chew those but hid them around the house instead. Every few weeks we'd find one somewhere random like the laundry hamper or a toy bin :)

She always greeted us at the door when we got home

She never barked, but would howl with firetrucks which was just plain awesome

She never jumped up on people

She never got on the furniture

She was super mellow, but was ready for a game of tag any time

She was very gentle with the kids

She kept all her 'business' contained to one area in the backyard

On walks, I could balance her leash loosely with a couple fingers while I pushed the kids in a stroller and she always stayed close

Our neighborhood is full of yappy dogs that would always freak out when we walked by, and she never even batted an eyelash

Okay, I kind of did go on forever but there is so much more I could have said -- we are sure we will never have another pet as good as Cleo.

When we told the kids what happened, their reactions could not have been more different. Kate got immediately sad and was on the verge of tears for quite a while. Finn listened calmy and then jovially replied, "well, it's kind of a good thing Dad, cuz now she won't get in your way anymore!"

Ha! Wah. That night, we all wrote a note to put in a container with her leash to bury in the backyard. Rest in peace, Cleo. We will miss you.

We are on the lookout for another pet, but want to take our time and make sure we get something that is a good fit for the family. The kids really want a cat. I am definitely more of a dog person, but am consoled by the fact that if we do get a cat, I can name her Blanche. Or maybe Gladys. But probably Blanche.

So, Christmas Happened

Whelp, March is almost over. No time like the present to blog about Christmas 2011!
We got our Christmas tree at Lowes this year and lucked out on a mis-marked tree -- a 6 footer for $20! It was perfectly cold the night we went to get it, just right for getting in the Chrismas spirit. This video is nothing spectacular, but I love to watch it just to see how excited the kids are...I remember being this excited when it was time to get the tree when I was young:

After the tree was decorated, we turned off all the lights, sat on the couch and basked in her yule-tide glory while sipping egg nog. Aaron and I agreed this was our best tree yet. It's so fun when your tree starts to get jam-packed with home-made creations and souvenir ornaments that are tied to great memories. We finished the night by watching "Pluto's Christmas Tree", a nastolgic cartoon from Aaron and I's childhood

Aaron's birthday is right in the middle of Christmas time and this year's was probably 1000 percent better than last year's. I made a delicious chocolate cake, Aaron made steaks, and we all wore party hats.

Christmas Eve we made our own delicious feast and had Ellen join us for all of our traditional stuff (rudolph game, cookies for santa, nativity story from bible, Christmas carols, short nativity video) Did I not take any pictures of that? Sad.

Christmas mornings just keep getting better and better. Santa scored a ton of Geo Trax for free from a friend and so Finn woke up to his very own train set. Kate was very excited about her princess barbies. Rex was an angel and liked to look at his new Tigger before drifting off to sleep. Candy was eaten before 8am. It was great. Aaron's favorite gift from me was the laptop I sneakily fixed for him (which I broke in the first place...we won't go there.) And my favoirite gift from him was...my cute boots! I sure loved wearing them all winter.
Being Sunday, we had church at 10am and being the choir director, I had a program to lead! I was totally nervous and glad when it was over. But it turned out so well! The hilight was "What Child is This"...I love that song and the choir did such an amazing job bringing the spirit into our meeting.

The rest of the day was filled with family and food and fun. My kids are so lucky to have so many cousins their age to play with all.the.time. And of course, having Grandma and Grandpa around was great too.

Finnisms

It wouldn't be a Finnisms post without some of his latest self-portraits, right?
Finn has grown up so much in the last few months! Right around the time Rex was born, Finn discovered his passion for texting. I literally showed him ONE time how to send a text and the rest is history -- he was hooked!
Aaron and I were upstairs together when Aaron's phone got the above text message...and we realized Finn had found my phone in the basement and sent it all by himself! Later that day, I noticed the following message in my drafts folder:
He has always had such an inquisitive mind and we are constantly amazed at the stuff he can figure out on his own. He is getting really good at sounding out words and can carry on quite coherent text conversations!

He recently discovered a text-to-speech website that he loves. (Moms -- let your kids play around on one! It will entertain them forever while teaching them letter sounds...serious life saver for me) Annnyway, one morning I heard him trying to get Kate to say "your voice sounds like a robot." Naturally curious I went in to see what was going on and and when she finally said it, Finn went straight to the computer to click the mouse...I had him try and reinact it...I thought it was pretty funny:

******
Finn: Mom, can I have some milk?
Me: You've had enough milk today. If you're thirsty you can have some water.
Finn: But I'm not thirsty, I'm milky!
******
Finn: Hey Mom, guess what my favorite vegetable is?
Me: What?
Finn: Chicken!
******
We are all at the dinner table, Finn finds out we are having spaghetti and meatballs and proclaims, "Yes! Meatballs are my favorite kind of balls!"
******
Finn: Mom, I like you and Dad more than Satan, you know why?
Me: (laughing) Why?
Finn: Cuz Satan's a big meanie.
******
Aaron took Finn to the grocery store and Finn was riding on the front of the cart. While Aaron was walking down the aisle Finn extended his arms, leaned back his head and said loudly, "This...is...SERIOUS!!!"
******
We were running late and grabbed McDonalds for dinner one night. After eating Finn said, "Dad, I'm still hungry, can I just have like, a vegetable or something?" We made him some peas and my mommy heart grew three sizes that day.
*****
And the piece de resistance:
Finn: Guess What?
Me:What?
Finn:Chicken Butt. Guess why?
Me: Why?
Finn: Chicken Pie! Guess who?
Me: Who?
Finn: Chicken Goo! Guess when?
Me: When?
Finn: Chicken Butt...again! (a few minutes pass) Mom, Guess what?
Me: (sigh) what Finn?
Finn: Chicken Penis!

He wasn't even trying to be rude, he was just trying to think of another body part to say. This was followed by a discussion about private parts, and the need to omit them from casual banter.

Oh, hello there

There's no denying it: I suck at blogging now. Rex is almost 5 months old and is happy and easy, but I am still having a hard time organizing my life and fitting everything in...so blogging got kicked to the curb. There is hope though, because Finn just started pre-school today! Now that I will just have two in the afternoons, I'm hoping I will have a little extra time to actually document the life we are living. And without further adieu, I give you Halloween:
Finn was Woody and Kate was Rapunzel. We have gotten A LOT of mileage out of that Rapunzel dress-up let me tell you. Here are the kiddos with their friends at our Playgroup Halloween party. Love getting together with these kids and their mamas.Halloween afternoon the kids got to go trick-or-treating at Aaron's office building. They had fun walking through the spooky decorated hallways and got waaaaay too much candy.

Terrible picture taken on my phone when they got home from trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. I just love how excited they are...well, not Rex so much. Finn wore that duck costume when he was a baby...sigh.

Finn and Kate LOVED carving pumpkins this year:

I will be compiling Finnisms, Kateisms and Thanksgiving and Christmas posts over the next few days...wish me luck!