three months old ... and early Christmas eve

Cheery and smiley--what a sweet 3 month old!And so we finally made it! Khloe has reached the 12 week/3 month mark. It is wonderful when a baby makes it to this point. Sleeping is under control, eating is under control ... she can play in the gym for a while. She is pleasant when awake. This is definitely a great point to reach. Once this growth spurt subsides, it will be business as usual. Khloe has started to laugh/giggle. It is cute to hear her make squealing and cooing and giggly noises when you play with her. She is starting to dislike her swing. It's sad, because up until lately, she would take her last catnap of the day in that swing. Now, she just cries. She would rather be put down in her crib. I love the swing ... but unfortunately, she isn't too keen on it right now. We'll see if she gets back into it or not. If not, I'll put it away. It takes up a lot of space. She's about to have her first Christmas. She's a little more aware than Colton was during his first Christmas, but it will still pass her by with not much knowledge that this certain day is any different from all of the rest.This is Khloe in a super cute outfit that Bill's co-workers gave her. It finally fits, so I thought I'd take a picture to pass along to them. She's looking so grown up ... well, more baby-ish and less infant-like.

I have made some treats lately ... and I made up this yummy veggie soup that Billy likes a lot. And I made biscuits from scratch for the first time. They were very tasty with one tweak needed ... I over kneaded the dough. Next time, I will do that less, so that I can get a more light and fluffy/flakey biscuit. Here are some pictures of my soup and treats. I made these chocolate Christmas cookies ... I replaced the mini chocolate chips with mini Christmas colored M&Ms. They were very tasty!The beginning of the soup preparation.My finhished soup project. It was delicious!The biscuits!

Tonight, we got my "push-present" for having Khloe. We bought a Nikon D5100 SLR camera. I am SO excited! I have taken a couple of pictures. I will have to read up on it, and maybe buy a book that will help me to take the best pictures. I am so thankful to have this camera. I am ready to take great pictures of the kids now without missing the perfect shot. This is the Christmas tree. I just like how it turned out.Billy and me ... it does make taking self-portraits much more difficult.

We decided to have our family Christmas Eve tonight. Since we will be traveling all of Christmas Eve, and since we're opening our gifts up tomorrow morning, we thought it'd be good to celebrate tonight at our house. We watched Dumbo (which hopefully will be a Christmas movie next year, instead--but once Colton gets something into his head ... it's hard to change his mind). He left out cookies and Mountain Dew for Santa. It would've been milk, but because we're leaving on Saturday, we are out of milk! Plus, I think Dad prefers Mountain Dew. We'll wake up tomorrow and open gifts and have a big breakfast. Colton is really excited. Like Billy said, "This is the first Christmas I am really excited in a long time!" And I think that's because we are so excited to see how Colton takes in all of these new experiences. It's something like living through your kid. You know and remember how wonderful Christmas was when you were little ... and to see that same joy in your child truly makes this the most wonderful time of the year. Cookies and Mountain Dew left for Santa.

girls' night!

So, tonight I had my second girls' night with Gwendy Adams. We went a couple of weeks ago to Maggianos and did a little Christmas shopping ... but around here in Tampa, malls don't stay open late during the Christmas hours ... well, 10 p.m., but that just started this week. Tonight was really fun! We went to Cinebistro, where you basically have a restaurant and movie all together. We sat in big, comfy, leather chairs and were served delicious food and drinks--all while watching a really, really great movie! We saw New Year's Eve. It was so funny! I loved it.It is produced by Garry Marshall. Of course, it was done really well. It has an all-star cast. My favorite (surprisingly) was Zac Efron ... don't worry, I'm ready for all of the jokes that come along with that! He was actually pretty funny in this movie. After we ate and watched the movie, we went shopping at The Shops at Wiregrass. Then we finished up the night with some Brusters ice cream. I had my favorite, Graham Central Station.It was super relaxing to not have to feed the kids dinner or put them to bed. Billy is a great Dad ... and it was so nice of him to relieve me of my duties for one night. I guess I did this for him twice this week ... but who's keeping score? Certainly not me! Ha, ha!

This week should be a good one ... light for Billy at work and pre-Christmas. I love this time of year! Merry Christmas to all ... and to all a good night!

... for my dad ...

Just to see what would happen, I whistled "my whistle" (the one my Dad used my whole life to get my attention or to get me to come without yelling my name) to Colton from across the house. I whistled a couple of times, and then I heard it ... "I'M COMING, MOMMY! HERE I AM! I'M COMING!" And a little boy came running around the corner into my room where I was waiting to see what he would do. It's funny how things transfer from one generation to another without much effort. I like it ... and I think I'll use it more often.

And on a side note: Whenever I'm in Kansas City at my Dad's house, he will whistle for Colton ... and I have--several times--called out to him in response or come into the room to see what he wanted ... only to realize, he's not whistling for me anymore--I'm 31 years-old. I guess some old habits never die!

count my blessings

You know ... as Billy woke me up this morning (and not my kids), I realized how blessed I am to have very similar sleepers ... who similarly sleep like their Mommy & Daddy. While not every morning do I have to wake them up, it's nice to have a morning here and there, where I get to walk into their rooms to rouse them for the day. This glorious Sunday morning, at 9:00 a.m., I am listening to the sweet, soft sounds of the trees rustling outside and the breeze blowing through the open window. I have no crying ... no waking kids ... no noise except that and the subtle clicking of the keys as I type. Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of my children, and the odd day where they sleep in and give me a chance to wake comfortably and sleep in just a bit, too. I love 9:00 a.m.! It's the best part of Sunday morning. Now, off to wake them up ...

"But I love her!"

I often find Colton smothering Khloe. I know it's out of pure, genuine love, but it's so frustrating when your two year-old is squishing the life out of your three month-old. He loves her so much; it's incredible! I am so happy that he seems to care a lot about Khloe. He asks about her when she's not around ... insisting that I get her out of bed when she's down for a nap. When I hear Colton's voice pitch into a high falsetto, I know he's down in Khloe's face talking to her or giving her hugs and kisses or tickles. I usually find his fingers in her face or his lips on her eyeball! I found him this week laying across her face, talking in his high falsetto voice, saying "Hiiiii, Baby Khloe! How are you, Baby Khloe? Oh, Baby Khloe, I'm so sorry!" When I removed him and told him to "be careful", he looked at me and said, "But I love her!"Joining her in the gym ... Colton always likes to lay with her in there. I think he likes it more now than he did when he was her age!So much joy fills my heart to see him care so much. When I'm holding her, he will get up to her and squat down in her face with the sweetest look on his face to say 'hi' to her or to give her a kiss. He makes an awesome big brother, and I wouldn't have it any other way--minus the squishing, perhaps.

On Thursday, Billy went to a hockey game with our friend, Brian. I decided to be brave and give the kids both a bath at the same time. It went really well, and Colton had a lot of fun! He was so excited to be taking a bath with Khloe. It was a party in the tub.Bath time together!

After I put Khloe to bed that night, Colton and I had a little Christmas party fun together ... just the two of us. I made us both some hot chocolate with marshmallows, and we watched "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!" It was so fun to sit on the ground with him and watch the movie while sipping his first hot chocolate ever. It was a special time for me to be hanging out with him without any other distractions. We'll have to do something like this more often.Little Bud with his hot chocolate.

I finally got Colton to ride his bike this week. He has been in pushing mode for the past year. He wants to push everything around. He has two separate strollers, a fire truck, and many other objects that he finds to push around the house/neighborhood. We bought him a tricycle for his birthday, and so far, he only wants to push it around the neighborhood. Yesterday, I got him to ride it around the neighborhood while I pushed him. He'll learn to pedal soon enough, but for now, I find it a success that he even rode it around. Good job, Colton!

Last weekend, Billy and I went to his hospital Christmas party. It was a lot of fun! Our neighbor friend, Judy, watched the kids again. The party was held at the Tampa Museum of Art. It was fun to walk around all dressed up in the art museum, eating yummy food, and listening to the live band they hired. We had a great time, and it was nice to be out together without the kids.

Tonight, Billy is out with Brian again at a football game--the Bucs vs. the Cowboys. I enjoyed putting the kiddos to bed ... they both got baths, but separately this time. Khloe has been a complete angel lately. I have really enjoyed how fun she is awake now that she's getting older. She has been a fabulous sleeper for quite a while, so putting her down to bed was a breeze. Colton had a bubble bath in Mommy & Daddy's big bathtub before bed tonight. He liked playing with the bubbles. He's a good boy, too. I love spending time with my kids. Now, I am relaxing ... blogging ... and enjoying some quiet time. Next weekend will be hectic with our traveling to Oregon, but I will enjoy being with my Mom.

I think I'll go put my feet up for a while ...
Me with my girl!

happy holidays

I love baking this time of year. It reminds me of all of the great times every holiday when I was growing up where my Mom would bake with me and my sister. We always had some treat going ... Christmas cookies, jam thumbprints, peanut brittle, carmels, fudge, truffles, breads, pies, etc. My Mom is such a good cook/baker, and she loved to share her love of being in the kitchen with us. Now, when I'm in the kitchen baking at Christmas, I think of my Mom ... (and my Dad's chocolate chip cookies), and I have warm, happy memories that I hope to pass on to my kids. I think Colton will enjoy eating the treats, and Khloe will enjoy making them with me. I already posted the pictures of us making Christmas cookies ... and last night, I made fudge and carmels. It sure smelled like the holidays in our house!Starting to melt the fudge!Cooling ... Yummy dark chocolate fudge! With M&M's, rocky road, and with nuts.The long process of boiling the carmels.All poured to cool.Cut and wrapped!

I have gotten a lot of Christmas shopping done. I am almost completely finished. It feels good to have everything nearly done. Tonight, I need to wrap some more gifts, and I hope to get a package mailed off by the end of this week. That means I have to make a few more trips tomorrow. It's hard to be out for too long with the kids (mostly with Khloe), so I have to make several short day trips. It makes for a busy week, but I must get it finished.

I'm pretty excited! I found out today that the Chiefs fired Todd Haley. It's about time. I read somewhere that someone said, "It's sad if they fired Todd Haley based on this season with all of the injuries, no preseason training, etc." But seriously, what has he done in years where he's had little to no injuries and a whole summer of training? Nothing. So, I'm prepared to get a new coach in there to make the right decisions and get us competitive again.

My little sweetie in her tutu. She's such a good girl!


I must go fold some laundry.

"there's poo everywhere!" colton heinrich.

So, I walk into Colton's room to get him out of bed on Thursday morning, and he says to me as I walk in, "There's poo everywhere! Wipe it, Mommy! Wipe it!" I peer over the rail of the crib to see this monstrosity.It wasn't on his hands ... a little bit was on the bottom of one foot. But for the most part, it was smeared up his back and down his legs. Unfortunately for me, there was poop on the railings, as well as, falling down behind the crib. I took him straight to the shower. I showered him off in his jammies. Then I removed the wet jammies and washed him down good! Then I took the jammies to the sink in the laundry room and rinsed them out very well. I had to do the same with his sheets. I have never seen such a large amount of diarrhea in one setting! I'm glad he was smart enough not to play in it or smear it everywhere, but it was still gross! He's lucky I found him that way and not his Dad. Billy would've probably taken one look and said, "Good luck, Colton!" Ha, ha!

This weekend, we are going to use our newest toy ... the pressure washer that Billy picked up on Thursday. We'll get our driveway and sidewalks sparkling clean! It's really powerful. We used it today a little bit just to see how it works. I had a lot of fun spraying the driveway down. Who knew cleaning could be so fun? We have to be really careful with it and make sure that we take good care of it. We don't want it to get ruined. It's an expensive toy! We are half owners with the Adams. Both of our families will have nice and clean driveways.

We went on a walk this evening to look at some of the Christmas lights in our community. It was really nice. Colton enjoyed seeing the blow up Christmas decorations ... although, those aren't really my favorites. He saw about four giant Santas and one giant Frosty the Snowman. The weather has been so nice in the evenings for the past few days. Makes for a nice walk.

So far this season, I have made Christmas cookies, fudge, and peanut butter kiss drop cookies. I think I'll make carmels and maybe a few other treats before we head to see my Mom in Oregon. Christmas is definitely not a time to diet ... but at least I'm getting my daily exercising done. I guess the diet part can come after the holidays are over.

Today, I found Colton playing so nicely. I could hear him chatting to himself and his toys while I was doing my hair. I came out of the bathroom and walked by him. He turned to me, and that's when I saw it ... Khloe's pink pacifier hanging out of his mouth. I looked at him. His eyes were wide (he's been in trouble for this before). I held out my hand ... he walked over and gave me her pacifier. I said, "Colton, whose pacifier is this?" He said, "It's Baby Khloe's." I asked, "Are you supposed to play with it?" "No," he answered. He knows better, but he is so fascinated with her pacifiers ... probably because she puts them in her mouth, but he knows he's not allowed to put them in his mouth! That silly kid. While he was playing today, I found this!Colton likes to line up all of his cars and trucks on the windowsill. He does this a lot. Then I can hear him say, "Here comes the red truck! Here comes Lightning McQueen! Here comes the blue tow truck!" I find it a little OCD, but it's cute, too.

So thankful it's the Sabbath! Have a happy one!

two-year and two-month check-ups

Today, I took both kids to the doctor for their check-ups. It was a classic "kids hating the doctor" kind of day.

First, Colton went in for his two-year check. He did not want to go to see the doctor. He was happy to play with their toys, but when the nurse wanted to weigh him, he started to cry ... and never stopped. We finally got him weighed. Then it was on to measuring his height. I had to force hold him against the wall. He kept yelling, "No animals!" I guess this was because the height stick has animals on it. Then he asked over and over, "Open the big white door, please! I want to go out!" We left that room ... but not until the circumference of his head was measured. He let out some BIG cries for that one. It was terrible! Then we headed back to the other room to get some shots for Khloe. Colton kept asking to watch the "TV" ... which was actually not a TV at all but a big chalk board. When the doctor came in, he burst into tears and wouldn't stop crying. It was very hard for her to check his eye dilation and his ears. She did find out that he has an ear infection ... let's just say that is why he was being so bratty! (It could also be because last time he was at the doctor's office, he got a flu shot ... so maybe he was remembering that.) He was a big mess, and he told Daddy when he got home, "I went to the doctor, and I cried. I was sad." Poor guy! I hope next time isn't so bad.

Colton's Two-Year Stats:
Weight- 31 lbs. (85th percentile)
Height- 35 in. (50th percentile)
Head Circumference- 51 cm (95th percentile)
He's still going strong on that head! I guess having big heads on both sides of his family, he will probably never have a "small" or "normal" head size! The doctor said that she isn't worried, because of the large heads running in our family and because of his history of always having a large head. Also, she said she can tell by talking with him and watching him that he is really smart and doing just fine.My cute Bud with his big laugh for the camera.Such a big boy now!Sweet smile!

Khloe had a great check-up. She did well for a two-month old. She cried a little bit, but it was the middle of what would be her first nap. Can you blame the girl for being sleepy? She fell asleep mid-check in my arms, but was rudely awakened by her two-month vaccines. She cried but recovered very quickly.

Khloe's Two-Month Stats:
Weight- 14 lbs. 3 oz. (95th percentile)
Height- 24 1/4 in. (83rd percentile)
Head Circumference- 41 1/2 cm (90th percentile)
She's rocking it out like her brother ... a little shorter, but overall, a healthy baby! Maybe that's why she's been sleeping through the night for the past week! Yay! I can officially say that my little one is sleeping through the night 8:30 p.m. to 8:00/8:15 a.m. We had nights for the two weeks prior to this past week where she would sleep through the night then other nights when she would wake up once. Now, she's officially sleeping through every night. I am definitely a happier Mommy ... and it has really helped my exercise routine. Since I'm getting good sleep--I'm also getting more exercise, and I'm feeling better. Love my girl!Here's my big girl!
She's found her hands ... and apparently Mommy's hands, too.

a visit to Santa ... and ... cole's first "real" haircut

This afternoon, we went to visit Santa Claus at International Plaza mall. Colton did really well. He was excited to go see Santa. I showed him the picture of him sitting on Santa's lap last year. Then when we saw him, I said, "Look, Colton! There's Santa! Are you going to sit on his lap?" He said, "Yeah!" So, he got up to Santa and said, "Merry Christmas, Santa!" Then he saw Khloe sit on one leg, so he let me put him up on the other leg. Then he was just fine taking several pictures with Santa. When he was finished, Santa gave him a book. He said, "Thank you, Santa!" It went really well. I was very glad for that. Khloe did well, too. She didn't even cry once! What a nice time visiting Santa. We, also, got some good Christmas shopping done today. It was a full day at the mall with Gwendy and Mason.Waiting with our friends, Gwendy and Mason, to see Santa!Khloe and Colton with Santa! They both did a great job.Playing at the mall after visiting with Santa.

Tonight, we cut Colton's hair for the first time. I am SO sad! It was tough for me to cut off the hair he has had since he was born. But I know he looks much better without his hair flying in the wind. I may have to let it grow back ... just to see if the curls remain. He looks like such a little man now. He's growing up so fast! I officially hate his hair cut. I think it's too short. I shouldn't have cut it as much as I did. I'm definitely going to let it grow back in. I miss his long hair and curls. I'm not a fan of this hair cut at all! The only part of it that I'm glad is gone are his curly wings that used to fly out above his ears. See his beautiful hair!?! All of those lovely curls. What was I thinking?We had him sit in just his diaper watching 'Finding Nemo'.A sweet curl I snipped off.This is where I should've stopped. I just should have trimmed a few pieces and left it this long.So much is gone! Almost done.Look at all of the hair on his back! Ha, ha! The wad of his hair before I swept it up. Isn't there a lot of hair here!?!Some views of the final product hair cut. I don't like it! I miss his luscious, curly hair!!!With the hair cutter ... Mommy, who regrets the hair cut, because she misses her little boy.

Last night, I had an official 'Girls' Night Out' with my friend Gwendy. We let our husbands put the kids to bed while we went out to have dinner and do some shopping. It was really nice not having to worry about kids being quiet or taking them in and out of the car wherever we went. I had a great time! I didn't even come back until 11:00 p.m. It was fabulous! I think we're going to do it again next week ... we're going to try to see a movie.

Last week, we got some presents for the kids from my Dad & Rose for Christmas (and Billy and Colton's birthday gifts). One of the presents couldn't be wrapped, so we got to see it early. It is this beautiful step stool for Khloe! Isn't it so cute? I had never gotten around to making one for Khloe like I did for Colton. It's just adorable, and I know Khloe will cherish it forever.

So, we baked and decorated some Christmas cookies on Sunday night. This was Colton's first official decorating session. He did okay ... he tried to eat a spoonful of icing! He loves Christmas cookies as much as his Dad! It's a fun tradition that both Billy and I shared with our families, and it's nice to continue it on with our children. Colton spilled a bunch of sprinkles onto his tray ... and then he couldn't concentrate, he just wanted to pick up and eat the sprinkles. He got to have one cookie ... and then it was off to bed. It was a lot of fun to decorate with him. Next year, Khloe will be able to join in on the fun! He's stirring the frosting to get the color to mix.Taking a bite to see if it's yummy.Ready to frost this reindeer cookie!A little red frosting. Some sprinkles ... they went everywhere!Tasting the masterpiece cookie!Another bite.Some final cookies.

Well, I'm off to do my Jillian Michael's DVD ... didn't get around to it until tonight with all of my mall adventures.