Kaelyn Says . . .

ANOTHER CASE FOR THE WONDER HANGER

This morning, while I was fixing Kaelyn's hair before school, Kaelyn made yet another case for our purchasing the Wonder Hanger.

Kaelyn: Mom, you know that the wonder hanger comes with the bend-a-hanger. It keeps silky tops from slipping off the hanger. I think we need one.
Mommy: I don't have any silky tops and neither do you, so we really don't need one.
Kaelyn: Well, the Wonder Hanger can hold five winter coats, and they bend down so your closet isn't messy and you can find things.
Mommy: My closet isn't messy and I can find things just fine. Your closet isn't messy either.
Kaelyn: (frustrated sigh) Just buy one Mom. It's totally worth it.

Kaelyn's Review

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAD KITTY

We ordered several books from Scholastic Book Club through Kaelyn's school several weeks ago. Today, Kaelyn came home with a bag full of new books, including Happy Birthday Bad Kitty. So, tonight I told Kaelyn that we would read a couple of chapters before she went to bed. Well, a couple of chapters turned into all 159 pages! This book is HILARIOUS as well as being a fast read. We read the entire book in less than 30 minutes.

Here is Kaelyn's review of Happy Birthday Bad Kitty:

"Kitty is hilarious! I love it when he rips up all of the decorations. I also love it when his Mommy Kitty comes to visit. Stinky Kitty is hilarious! All of the kitties are hilarious! Chatty Kitty talks super fast! This book is so funny that I want to read it every day and every night. I love Bad Kitty!"

There you have it. A glowing recommendation for Happy Birthday Bad Kitty. Even if you don't have kids, do yourself a favor and read this book. You will thank us!

Sitting Up Tall in My High Chair

Gretchen finally has the strength to support herself in the full upright position in her high chair. She loves it! She thinks she is a big shot when she sits in her high chair and plays with her toys. We still have to recline the chair to feed her -- she doesn't quite have the coordination to eat upright. We tried, but most of it fell out of her mouth. Soon enough she will be eating upright with the rest of us, but, for now, she will just have to be happy playing upright!

Gretchen Models Traditional Thanksgiving Wear

I love this little outfit! Kaelyn wore it for her five month photo to commemorate her first Thanksgiving, so I had to have Gretchen wear it for her six month photo/commemoration. I especially love the backside -- gobble, gobble!

Illustrated Nursery Rhyme

Ever since Kaelyn was an infant, she has loved the nursery rhyme, Hey, Diddle Diddle. So, the other day, I saw her working very hard on an art project. When she was finished, she proudly showed me what she had done. The result was an illustrated version of her favorite nursery rhyme.

Hey, diddle diddle! The cat and the fiddle . . .
(notice the fiddle that the cat is playing,
and the feet with claws)

the cow jumped over the moon.
(How great is this picture?!)

The little dog laughed to see such sport,
(Notice the basketball. Kaelyn didn't know which sport the little dog was laughing at, so she chose basketball!)

and the dish ran away with the spoon.
(Again, how great is this picture?!)

A-MAZE-ING

Recently, Kaelyn has really been into solving mazes. She loves them! Most of the time, she is able to solve them without help. The other day, she ran out of mazes to solve, so she made her own. Then she solved it. How smart is this child? Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!

Kaelyn Says . . .

CHOOSIN' UP

Today, I heard Kaelyn trying to choose between two toys. She couldn't decide which one to play with, so she decided to choose the old fashioned way:

Eeny, meeny, miney, moe,
catch a tiger by his toe.
If he bites you, let him go.
Eeny, meeny, miney, moe.

Sound advice, indeed.

Gretchen is Six Months Old!

Gretchen Margaret is six months old today! She is growing so fast! It is amazing just how fast the past six months have gone. Here is what Gretchen is up to these days:

• She weighs between 13 and 15 pounds.
• She wears size two diapers.
• She wears size six to nine month clothes.
• Her personality is really starting to shine through. She has the best personality. She is so happy and easy going. Nothing seems to bother her!
  
• She "talks" all the time. She babbles instead of coos now. She is starting to make sounds that sound like first words. She is really loud when she talks. She wants to be heard!
  
• She laughs out loud. She has the best laugh!
• She has two teeth -- bottom front right and left.
• She is working on her four top teeth and two more bottom teeth. She is a slobber box!
• She loves lying on the floor and playing with toys. She is finally able to grab and hold toys by herself. She is fascinated when she finally grabs and holds a toy that she wants.
• She loves to play on the floor on her tummy. She raises herself up on her arms and smiles at everything she sees. She thinks she is a big girl when she plays on her tummy!
  
• She can roll over from front to back. She use to roll anywhere, but now she only does this in her crib. Every time she rolls onto her back, she wakes herself up and makes noise until someone goes to get her.
• She can almost sit up by herself. She can sit for a few seconds without assistance. By next month, she will be sitting up like a pro!
  
• She sits in her high chair to eat her cereal and fruit. She also sits in her high chair at the table with us when we eat dinner. She notices that we are eating food at dinner and she wants some. So, we have to give her toys to play with so that she is distracted while we eat.
• She is a thumb-sucking pro! When she is tired she sucks her thumb and grabs her hair in the back. We think she is going to be a hair twirler!
  
• She loves to listen to stories and look at books. She can even turn board book pages by herself now!
  
• She loves to watch television. Her favorites are Elmo and football with Daddy.
  
• She still loves to be held in the rocking chair. I rock with her right before her long afternoon nap and right before bedtime. She really relaxes and falls asleep fast when being rocked.
  
• She takes six ounces of formula every five to six hours. She knows the bottle routine now -- when she hears the refrigerator open and the sounds of the microwave, she starts to get really excited. When she sees her bottle, she kicks her legs and smiles until she finally starts eating.
  
• She eats everything now -- all kinds of baby food. She gets a vegetable with cereal or a meal (like Turkey and Sweet Potatoes) for lunch and fruit with oatmeal for dinner. She loves to eat! There really isn't anything that she won't eat. I have a feeling that she is not going to be a tiny girl like her sister -- she already has chunky thighs!
  
• After her last feeding, she sleeps between 12 and 14 hours before her next feeding. This makes Daddy really happy as he does not have to get up with her every night to feed her!
  
• Most days she naps two hours in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. Some days she power naps for 30 to 40 minutes. The rest of the day she is wide awake. She sleeps so long at night that she really does not need to sleep during the day anymore, except to nap.
• She still loves to sleep on her tummy.
• She loves the Jumperoo. She laughs when she jumps and activates the lights and music. She thinks she is a big shot when she is standing in the jumper!
• She still loves her Exersaucer. She has even learned how to spin in the seat to play with tall of the toys. She is such a big girl in the Exersaucer!
  
• She is pretty much done with her bouncy chair.
• She is pretty much done with her swing. However, if she is really tired and will not go to sleep, we put her in it. She cannot resist the perpetual motion and music. It puts her to sleep every time!
  
• She loves, loves, loves, her big sister. She smiles and kicks her legs whenever Kaelyn talks to her. She watches everything that Kaelyn does. We think she is collecting information so that when she is able to sit up and play, she will know what to do!
• She is finally able to interact with Kaelyn when they play together. She loves to play with Kaelyn. If Kaelyn is holding a toy, Gretchen will reach for it. Sometimes Kaelyn gives her the toy. Other times, she keeps the toy for herself. This makes Gretchen very unhappy!
  
• If Kaelyn is in the room with Gretchen and is not paying attention to her, Gretchen will make a loud noise to get Kaelyn's attention. She almost demands that Kaelyn pay attention to her if they are together!
  
• She still loves when people talk to her. She smiles and "talks" to anyone who talks to her. She moves her mouth around like she really has something to say. Someday we will find out just what she is thinking!
• She still loves, loves, loves her bath. She is strong enough to sit on the reclining side of her bathtub now so we have moved her tub into the big bathtub in the bathroom. We put a little bit of baby wash in the water to form bubbles, and she loves it! She kicks her legs in the water and smiles and laughs. She can't quite figure out how her legs are able to float and how she is able to make the splashing sound. We can see the wheels in her mind moving every time she splashes with her feet.
  
• She tolerates her car seat and stroller as long as there is a toy to look at and talk to.
• She is still a very spoiled baby! Whenever we have free time, we hold her. She loves to be held. We hold her more than we put her down. This may come back to haunt us later!
  
• She is still a very happy baby. She is smiley all the time. The only time she really cries is when she is hungry or tired.

It is hard to believe that Gretchen is already six months old! She is no longer a tiny baby. She is growing into a big girl right before our eyes! Here are pictures of Gretchen from one month to six months. Enjoy!

Snuggle Buddies

A couple of mornings ago, I walked in the bedroom to find Kaelyn and Gretchen snuggling in bed watching Sesame Street. It was so sweet to find them like that, so I grabbed the camera and snapped a couple of pictures. I hope they are still snuggling together years from now!

Thanksgiving Feast

Today was Kaelyn's Thanksgiving Feast at school. This is a really fun day. All of the teachers dress up as Pilgrims and Native Americans and all of the kids work hard to prepare everything for the Feast. So, Brian, Gretchen, and I went to school to watch Kaelyn perform a couple songs and feast with her. All of the kids did a great job. Of course, Kaelyn was the star of the show! After her performance, we went into the gym and ate vegetable soup, pumpkin muffins, and homemade butter with Kaelyn. Kaelyn and all of the other kids in the school worked to make the soup, muffins, and butter. Everything was delicious! All of the kids did a great job, and Kaelyn was really proud of the work she did. Before we left, we took pictures of Kaelyn with her teacher and with her best friend, Isabelle. Thanks, Kaelyn! We had a great day with you!

Tom Turkey's Thanksgiving Advice

Isn't this little turkey cute? Kaelyn made this in school as a table decoration for the Thanksgiving Feast. I love his meal advice for Thanksgiving Day!

Sisters

Tonight between baths, Kaelyn wanted to play with Gretchen. So, Daddy put Gretchen on top of Kaelyn and left her there. Both girls loved it! They both laughed and giggled for a long time. It was the first time that the girls interacted like sisters instead Kaelyn being Gretchen's entertainment. Hopefully, this is the first of many sisterly interactions!

Reading at Lunch

A couple of weeks ago, while we were at Barnes and Noble, Kaelyn picked out this book for Gretchen. It has pictures of babies in it and it hangs on the car seat handle. So, while we were at lunch today, I looked over at Gretchen and found that she was reading while Kaelyn and I were eating. It was hilarious! So, of course, I had to snap some pictures. I have a feeling that she is going to be a voracious reader someday!

More Than Just A Pretty Face

Have you ever seen a prettier baby? This was Gretchen yesterday afternoon while she played in her jumper. This is how she looks almost all day every day. She only gets upset if she is hungry or needs her pants changed. She is a beautiful, happy girl!

Jumping to the Point of Exhaustion

Poor Gretchen! She was having a lot of fun in her jumper -- she literally jumped to the point of exhaustion. Then, she laid her sweet little head down and went to sleep. I let her stay in the jumper just long enough to snap a picture. Then, I took her to her bed so that she could sleep comfortably. What a sweet baby!

The Amazing Spiderman

Tonight, Kaelyn's cousin Geoffrey came over to play while his parents went out to a concert. When it was time to get ready for bed, Geoffrey came out into the kitchen and said "look! I'm Spiderman!" He even has Spiderman's moves down pat. Awesome, Geoffrey! I couldn't tell the difference between you and the real Spiderman!

Where's the Beef?

These days, Gretchen gets a little restless during dinner. She eats her dinner well before the rest of us sit down to eat, but she watches us eat and she wants what we have on our plates. So, tonight I put her tray on her high chair and gave her some toys to keep her entertained. She really seemed to enjoy herself! Plus, she learned a new game that is fun to play with Mommy -- dropsy. Gretchen drops her toy, Mommy picks it up, and Gretchen laughs and laughs. This game continues throughout the duration of dinner. Good times!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

How great is this? It is a breaded chicken patty shaped like Mickey Mouse. We bought these especially for Kaelyn, since she LOVES Mickey and Minnie Mouse. According to Kaelyn "this is one of the best things I have ever had for dinner!"

Letter to Santa . . . Not So Much

At a time when most children are writing their letters to Santa, Kaelyn wrote a letter to Peyton Manning. That's right -- Peyton Manning, Quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. She drew a football helmet with a horshoe on it and wrote Peyton's name at the bottom. Below his name is a heart.

This weekend, we are going to mail this to Peyton Manning along with a picture of Kaelyn in her Colts Cheerleader outfit. Hopefully, she will get a response from him!

I am now totally convinced that we are raising Kaelyn right!

Crisis Averted

A couple of weeks ago, Kaelyn and Nana took a trip to the craft store. As usual, Kaelyn took her lovey, Mr. Winks with her. When they got back to Nana and Grandpa's house, Kaelyn played in the playroom while Nana did some things around the house. After a little while, Kaelyn came out of the play room and asked "Nana, where is Winkser?" Nana asked Kaelyn if he was in the play room. Kaelyn said that he wasn't. So, Nana, Grandpa, and Kaelyn looked all over the house for Mr. Winks, everywhere but the playroom because Kaelyn said he was not in there. After not finding Kaelyn's lovey, Nana called the craft store and asked "did anyone turn in a scruffy looking pink elephant?" No luck. Then, Grandpa went into the playroom and found Mr. Winks lying on the floor where Kaelyn left him.

In the meantime, Kaelyn quickly drew a lost and found poster to take to the craft store just in case he was left there. She did not get to put any words on it, but this is what she said she would have printed:

"Lost -- scruffy pink elephant. His name is Mr. Winks. I love him very much. Please find him."

Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word . . .

This afternoon, Kaelyn threw a big time fit. So, I sent her to her room to calm down and told her that she was going to bed early because she seemed really tired. She continued yelling and screaming for another one-half hour! After she was quite for a little while, I went in to talk to her. This was lying on the floor when I walked into her room. It says "Mama loves Kaelyn".

This melted my heart and I let her come out of her room. She still went to bed early, though!

Kaelyn Says . . .

THE POWER OF PRAYER

Yesterday while we were in church, Kaelyn had a major meltdown. Of course, she melted at the worst possible time -- right before we were to go up for communion. So, after Brian and I took communion, I took Kaelyn out into the hallway. I sat her in time out for five minutes to give her time to calm down. As I was standing watching the clock, I heard Kaelyn pray "Dear God, please bless Mommy and please let this five minutes go by really fast. Amen." God must have heard her because her five minutes did go by rather quickly!

Decorating for Fall

Tonight, Kaelyn used some of the leaves that she collected on our leaf walk to make a fall wreath. She spent a lot of time coloring and gluing leaves onto a paper plate. She did a great job! We put her wreath on top of a pumpkin, like a hat, that is on our kitchen table. Thanks, Kaelyn! You can make decorations for us anytime!

Leaf Walk 2009

Last year, Kaelyn want to go on a "leaf walk" to collect leaves for art projects. So, we took her to Concordia Seminary and let her collect as many leaves as she could carry. For the past several days, Kaelyn has been talking about going on another leaf walk. Brian and I decided that today was the day. We took advantage of the unusually beautiful and warm November weather and returned to Concordia Seminary to collect some leaves. We all had a great time! This may be an annual tradition for us. After all, there are lots and lots of art projects that you can make with leaves!

Kaelyn Says . . .

ELBOW GREASE

Here is a conversation that Kaelyn and I had this morning while we were snuggling in bed before getting ready for school. Enjoy!

Kaelyn: Mom, what is elbow grease?
Mommy: Elbow grease means that you put a lot of effort into what you are doing or you have to work really hard to get something done.
Kaelyn: (after a pause to absorb what I said) Well, I am going to put a lot of elbow grease into my play at school today.