Saturday, February 7, 2015

Daddy-Daughter Dance 2015

Emma and Daddy headed off to their second Daddy-Daughter Dance last night. Easton was pretty bummed to be left out. They had a great time this year and Emma even danced with Jason. When they went two years ago she wanted nothing to do with him...

 There was some severe disappointment when Emma didn't win a prize basket at the end of the night. They also gave away all the goldfish that were on the tables. She clearly has daddy wrapped around her finger because they made a late night trip to Meijer and came home with this.

Just what I've always wanted! Oh well, she's happy about it. And they made some great memories together!

Sunday, February 1, 2015

18 Months!

 Elissa Joy, you are officially 18 months. My sweet baby disappears a little more each day while adorable toddler continues to immerge. This has been such a hard transition for mommy since you are my last little one!

 About a month after your birthday you started to wobble around on two legs and shortly afterwards you took off running! You vocabulary has taken off as well. The doctor was impressed with how many words you can say. You will repeat pretty much anything you hear.

 You still wear primarily 12 month clothes, but we are using 18 month as well since I have lots of Emma's old clothes. Still same size disposable and rise setting on your cloth butt. Tipping the scale at 19 lbs 4 oz, you continue to prove to be the smallest Klein baby yet.

 We are down to one nursing session before bed- mommy reached her goal for you! I wanted to get you through cold and flu season as much as possible. Sleeping still proves to be a struggle, but we are getting there. Some nights I have to lay on the floor in your room until you settle down or fall asleep. other nights I slowly inch my way to the door until I am out of sight. I try not to let you fuss too much since your sister needs her rest! Hopefully we continue to move in the right direction. We are now down to one nap a day in the afternoon.
 You are obsessed with your rain boots!
Lately you and your brother have become quite the pair. Poor Emma feels left out since she spends a lot of her days at school. Most of the time you get along well together. You still don't like to let mama out of your sight though. Recently you've learned to give out hugs and kisses and you love to dole them out. I adore your little arms wrapped around my neck!

Friday, January 30, 2015

Modifications

Slowly, but surely we are still working on making our house a home. It's funny how long a process that can be when you have real life going on around you every day. Jobs, kids, laundry, meals. It all takes it's time and in turn takes it's toll. After two years I finally got the hubby to hang some valances for me. To his credit, they have only been ready to go up for about a year :)

Dining Room
 Entryway
 
He also installed my tack boards above our desks that my mom recovered. I love them!

After almost 10 years of home ownership I have learned a few things. There will always be something on your to-do list. Unless you build your home piece by piece from the ground up you will probably never be satisfied with every.single.detail. Even then, it will only last for a while. Styles change. Life with small children happens. Things need to be rearranged to fit your current season of life. And that's ok. As long as you are sharing it with the people you love!

Monday, January 26, 2015

One Creative Kiddo

This girl cracks me up.
 She turned herself into a mummy
 Lil' sis had to get in on the action

Some days her ingenuity surprises me. Other days it makes us giggle.
Once you fall, you can't get up!
 
I love to watch her explore her world, solving problems and learning new things as she goes. Sometimes teaching us a thing or two along the way. Between her stubborn streak and her creativity I believe she will be a leader who gets things done!
 
When all else fails, grab some tape and scraps to transform yourself into a cat!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

365 Moments of Peace Review


I have been looking for a devotional that I would enjoy. One that I would want to reach for each morning, not simply because I had to, but because it spoke to me. Something that I could glean information from that would be applicable in my day to day life. And let's be honest here, as a mom of three active little ones, it needed to be brief. When this devotional came across my email I knew I needed to give it a shot.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764212982
Photo credit: amazon.com
I love the brief daily devotions. Each one includes a devotion that is about a paragraph long, two bibles verses and a short prayer. I wish they had used the same translation for all the verses. However, that is pretty minor and just a personal preference. I have been reading it for about a week now and really enjoy it. Most of the topics are easy to relate to. It isn't a struggle to read every day either. I am thankful for one more way to dig deeper into God's word!

Thanks to Bethany House publishers who sent me a free copy. It is not required that I give a positive review, but to express my own opinions of this book
 

Friday, January 9, 2015

Sibling Sentiment

Many days seem to be full of endless squabbles. Hitting, throwing toys, disrespectful words abound. While this behavior is not tolerated, I also struggle to find the line of where to step in. They need to learn to work their problems out themselves. As long as no one is in danger they need to master how to maneuver their thoughts and actions in these settings .
Playing with the 'make-up' kit I made
Yet when name calling begins I tend to referee. No one is being physically harmed, but little souls are. Elissa picks up on the words being carelessly thrown around. She may not understand their power, but she has no trouble using them when she is upset. It's what her siblings do. Which makes it even harder to deter her from using their language. She simply doesn't understand.

 
After particularly hard days I find myself wondering if I am doing things right. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to raising multiple children. Most of my life I was an only child. Even after my mom and step-dad adopted I was already out of the house and starting my own family. Self doubt is easily compounded with no thanks to the endless internet venues available at our fingertips. Facebook. Instagram. Blogs.

I know I've said this before, but it is SO easy to hide behind todays technology. Many times we don't see a glimpse of real life. It's easier to share the rosy snap shots outside of the trenches. Even if we don't have photographs to share, we certainly don't talk about what we may consider our 'parenting fails'. But those endless days, the temper tantrums, the unruly threenager? How we handle those moments shapes their tomorrows.
'Washing' windows for me
I am certainly not saying I have all the answers or I always make the right choices when, say, faced with a defiant six year old. I am trying though. When I realize I didn't help the situation by my reaction I ask for forgiveness. Our kiddos need to see that we make mistakes too. That we can own up to them. I also have to forgive myself. Make a conscious effort to react differently next time.

Cause in the end, no one is an expert. Whether you have one or six. Each child is different. We are all learning as we go. There is no textbook with all the answers. And when I see my kids playing together peacefully, if only for a moment I try to capture it. So I can remember that they do love each other. I'm doing something right. And you never know how long it will last!



Monday, January 5, 2015

Nutcracker

Back in December, my sister-in-law and I took my mother-in-law to see the Nutcracker in Grand Rapids in lieu of a Christmas present. I gave Emma the option of joining us and she decided to tag along. She loves any reason to get dressed up!




The show was wonderful, although Emma was a little confused and disappointed when she realized there was no actual talking during the ballet. Looking back I realize I should have tried to explain the story line to her beforehand. She has been to several theatre performances already and has enjoyed them. I love making these memories with her!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Ringing in the New Year

Last night we had a super low key celebration with our neighbors to celebrate 2015. We had lots of snacks, laughs and all around good time. I love how well our little ones get along too.
 
This is a whole lot of adorable with a little bit of trouble mixed in :)

Max is such a good buddy, this pic is to precious
 
I am the only night owl in the group and with a load of littles you don't want to be out late. We had everyone tucked in well before the ball dropped and I didn't even stay up to watch it this year. After a good night of sleep we had a low key day ahead of us.
 
In the afternoon we met my mom so Emma could go have a sleep over at her house for a few days.
 This is how Emma greeted me in the morning. Jammies still on, backpack packed and ready to go!
 I am so thankful for technology available to us! I was able to tell my sweet girl goodnight via Skype before she called it a night. I know she will have a blast, but it is so weird not having her here to tuck in at night.