Christmas, part 1

It has been a busy and fun month. Highlights include:

*going to Lilliput with friends Heather and Todd. I think it had been a year since we have been there. I used to have to do everything with Karla there (play right next to her or help her up the steps or rockwall) but this time I don't think she really even cared that I was there. It is nice to see her grow and learn to do things on her own.

*we went to Fun Fore All with her friend Eliana. I had taken Karla there once about 1 1/2 years ago and she didn't remember it. I had to climb all around with her that first time too. This time I had to go in with her at first but then she was fine and she and Eliana ran and climbed and ran and climbed for a very long time! I love watching Karla play and interact with other kids. Karla has already talked about going back and Eliana's mom told me that Eliana has said the same thing. The only bad thing was that Karla had her first "asthma attack" from running and playing there. I ALWAYS have her emergency inhaler with us but haven't had to use it many times. I was glad to have it that day! Usually her attacks happen suddenly but usually they are when she has some congestion. She was recovering from a cold so that is probably why she had the attack. I had to make her sit down for a while. I thought she would get mad (in which case I would have just brought her home so she could calm down and not have as much temptation to run) but she listened and sat down for a while. She even told Eliana "I have asthma so I have to have a breathing treatment and sit for a few minutes." The way she said "I have asthma" made it sound like she was proud of it. I guess it is good she has a positive attitude about it! :) I felt sad I had to make her stop playing because of asthma but it didn't bother her! We didn't stay much longer. It was great day overall. I enjoyed talking to Eliana's mom and not crawling around in the play equipment...not sure my wrist could have done that anyway.

*Karla made her first gingerbread house with Grammy and Pap-Pap. Jason and I went shopping one Saturday and came home to a gingerbread house and a craft ornament Karla made. They were busy while we were gone!

*My sister Brenda came to visit with her husband Russ and their baby Kiera! I felt like this was one of the first times Karla didn't get jealous when I was holding another child for extending periods of time. She did start acting like a baby more often - laying on the floor and wiggling her arms and legs. She has also taken an interest in a babydoll that she has since Kiera's visit. Karla has never really played with baby dolls. Just Oso.

*Karla's dance class had a little performance to "Up on the Housetop". It was cute. I love watching her and her little classmates dance!

*We went to see Santa. Karla was all excited about it. We stood outside in the cold for almost an hour waiting to see him. We entered the one room "house" when it was our turn to see him and sit on his lap. She would barely go all the way in the door. She saw him and decided she wasn't so sure that talking to him, being close to him, or sitting on his lap was a good idea. She did finally tell him what she wanted - a Pocahontas Barbie - but that was it. Jason and I were pretty much in shock and weren't sure what to do. After freezing for almost an hour and then finally getting in to see him...she wanted no part of it! So, our turn was quick. I am sure the people in line behind us were happy. It'll be a funny memory....when my toes finally thaw out.

*We've had lots of family time. Karla got to spend an afternoon with her Tio Kevin. We spent the night at grandma and grandpa's twice in less than 2 weeks. We went to see Aunt Kim, Uncle Larry, and cousins Kelsie and Taylor tonight.


...no wonder I'm tired. :)

Merry Christmas!!

We've had a busy past few weeks. I hope to blog about them soon. To hold you over, here is a link to lots of pictures of all the fun things we have been up to. Click here.

May you have a blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior!

GREAT-grandparents

This past weekend we went to visit Karla's great-grandparents. We hadn't been to their place in quite a while and Karla had been asking to see them.

Karla got to help them decorate their Christmas tree and get out some Christmas decorations.

She played Old Maid with Mammaw and Peepaw.

And, most importantly, we had a birthday party together. Karla had been concerned about Mammaw and Peepaw not being able to come to her birthday party SO we took some cake and princess decorations with us. We celebrated Karla's birthday as well as Mammaw and Peepaw's. They both have December birthdays. Hopefully they didn't mind princess plates and napkins. :)

I love this picture!!


We had to leave rather abruptly because Karla started having asthma troubles during dinner. Karla cried in the car because we had to leave. It about broke my heart because I'm "all growned up" and I still don't like leaving any of my grandparents!

Karla is getting better. We missed a playgroup Christmas party and her last gym class earlier this week. We did make it to dance yesterday and a playdate today.

Being Four

*We had been telling Karla that when she turned four years old she would no longer go to the toddler room during the church service. She would stay with Daddy and me. This was exciting for her since she loves doing things that she thinks are just for "big" kids or "growned ups." So far she has done a great job of sitting still and being quiet. She loves to sing the doxology with the congregation and keeps asking to practice the Lord's Prayer so she can say that with everyone.

After her first church service, we got home and she asked me very seriously, "Why didn't we drink grape juice like blood at church today?" She was very disappointed that she didn't get a drink during the church service. She was talking about communion. We've talked about it a few times at home but I guess she has seen people setting up communion at church to know that we have done it when she was back in the toddler room! It was so funny because she was truly disappointed and I was trying to explain and not crack up at the same time. She is really going to be disappointed when she realizes she won't be taking communion with Daddy and me until she is older! We'll see how the service goes that day.

*Karla had her 4 year old well visit the week after her birthday. She is right on track!

*Another change that has come with being 4 is that Karla doesn't always nap anymore. This change has been happening for a while but after her birthday, on some days, I tell her she doesn't have to nap, just stay in her room until a timer goes off so she can have some "quiet time." She LOVES not having to take a nap and happily stays in her room for the allotted time. I'm hoping this lasts. :) The only tricky thing is that she gets tired pretty early in the evenings. That can be a challenge for everyone especially if we have something to do later in the day. The nice thing is she is in bed much earlier and I feel like I can get things done, relax, or spend more time with Jason than when she was staying up later.

*I never really blogged about Thanksgiving. The above picture is Karla proudly showing off her plate of food. She tried new things and ate a lot that day! She seemed to catch on that on Thanksgiving you eat LOTS of food. We had 11 people at our house, including the 3 of us. We've hosted for several years now and I feel like this year was the smoothest/easiest. I felt pretty relaxed the entire day which was nice! It is always nice to spend time with family. That is what I was/am thankful for - FAMILY! The Saturday after Thanksgiving we got together with even more family in Ohio at a restaurant followed by time at my mom and dad's house. That was lots of fun too! I hardly saw Karla all afternoon because she was off playing with her cousins in the basement or in a closet. My parents have a closet in one of the bedrooms that is pretty "interesting" that the girls LOVE to play in. I can't really describe the closet so I'll just have to take a picture sometime. Here is a picture of Karla relaxing on the couch on the Sunday after all of our Thanksgiving fun. She and I both took a long nap that day!

*My little girl isn't feeling well this week. She had asthma troubles on Saturday and Sunday. Thankfully she seems to be getting better and didn't require any extra breathing treatments yesterday. I hate it when she is sick! I feel so bad for her and there isn't much I can do.

Little Pumpkins

I told a few people about the outfit I sent to my niece. Here is a picture of her in her crocheted hat and homemade skirt. I found a onesie to match the skirt. I was so excited to see a picture of her in the outfit! Here she is:

There had to be a shirt change before heading to the pumpkin patch.... :) Here is a picture of Kiera with her Mommy, my sis.

Karla had seen me crocheting the pumpkin hat and another one that I made for a new baby gift. She kept asking me to make her one. Jason told me he thought she was too old for the hat...but I couldn't resist. I know how to adjust the pattern size! :) Did she ever wear the hat outside of our house? No. It was really too warm in October and part of November. Now it is a little late for pumpkins. Unfortunately she will not pose with this hat on... This is the best shot I got. And yes. Oso is wearing a dress in this picture. She realized one of her dolls dresses fits him/her! Sometimes Oso is a girl, sometimes a boy. Recently Oso is usually a girl, especially when wearing a dress.

Birthday Party

I love this picture from Karla's birthday party (which was two weeks ago already)! Mammy took it right after everybody sang "Happy Birthday" to Karla and she had just made her wish. She wanted to tell me her wish. As soon as she whispered her wish to me, she told everyone loudly, "I wish for cake." Then she blew out the candles. It was pretty cute. She had been talking about how she mostly just wanted cake for her birthday for weeks. There was excitement around blowing out the candles, etc. because then she would get to eat the cake. But, after we cut her a piece, all she wanted to do was play with the princess figures on top of the cake! She sat there for quite a while making the princesses sing and talk...lost in her own little world. I think she may have had 1-2 licks of the frosting - but NO cake! :)

The party outfit:
Most importantly, lets start with accessories.
*Karla got some stick-on earrings for her birthday and wanted to wear two pairs in each ear at her party. At first I thought it was strange she wanted two pairs per ear...until I realized that my ears are double pierced. It was hard to tell her no, she could only have one pair when I was wearing two!
*Karla wore her Jasmine shoes from Halloween. I'm glad we are getting lots of use out of these. They are here favorite shoes and already look well-worn.
*I told Karla I would try to fix her hair like Jasmine's but surprisingly she just wanted "normal" hair.
*Since I made Karla a special Dora outfit for her birthday last year I felt like I had to continue the tradition. I could not find any type of applique with Jasmine on it. So Mammy helped me find and print a picture of Jasmine on fabric paper that can be ironed on to clothes. I should have taken more time in experimenting with the iron-on because it didn't show up as dark as I would have liked. Karla didn't seem to care though. She had this denim jumper in her closet so I decided rather than making something totally new I would dress up the jumper. I found some fun stuff at Jo-Ann's to sew and glue on.

The party guests:
After last year's big party (over 100 people at our church) we decided to do something small. :) We had 20 family members at our house. Two of Karla's great-grandparents came, all 4 of her grandparents, 3 uncles, 1 aunt, 5 cousins, a great-aunt,a great-uncle and the 3 of us made 20!

The gifts:
Karla got many nice gifts! I've enjoyed playing with new things that aren't Barbie related.

The cake:
It was awesome! I think I may have liked it more than Karla!!


The activities:
We all talked and played for a while. Then we ate lots of yummy food and had cake and ice cream. Then Karla opened her gifts. Before the party she had asked if we could play games at her party and I had planned a few...but forgot once the party got going. Luckily, Karla forgot too and hasn't ever mentioned it since her party. It was a really nice and unusually warm day so we were all able to go outside later in the afternoon and play. We also got to watch Karla learn to ride her new bike. I don't think she liked us all watching her try to do something she wasn't confident she could do so she didn't ride for a long time. She's ready to practice with me or Daddy she said when we have another warmer day.

The day went so fast! I think everybody had fun! I know I did.

Noodles

Karla started asking about 2 months ago when we were going to make noodles again. Jason and I have done it for years together for Thanksgiving dinner. Last year Karla did it with us and LOVED it. Finally, yesterday we made noodles for this coming Thursday. She remembered how to do it and was better at using the "crank" this year. I like having this tradition to do as a family now! We all enjoy it...and can't wait to eat them on Thursday.

I will blog about Karla's birthday party eventually. We've (the girls) haven't been feeling well and now we are preparing to host Thanksgiving dinner this week.

Birthday Pictures

Click here for pictures of all the birthday celebrating that was done over the past few days.

Happy 4th Birthday Karla!

We had lots of fun today. Jason took the day off so the 3 of us could have the whole day together. Karla started the day with a little cuddling with Daddy, then Barbie's with Mommy. Then she had the breakfast of her choice - bacon and grapes. Next we had to get ready for dance class. Daddy finally got to see "Karla's studio." She gave him a tour when we first got there. I was proud that Karla was brave enough to tell her teacher it was her birthday...I thought she might be too shy. She wasn't! Karla came out of dance class first (the teacher let her be the line leader since it was her birthday) and ran over to Jason and I and said "My whole class sang Happy Birthday to me!" She got a special sticker from her teacher too. I thought it was nice the teacher made such a big deal of Karla's special day.

We asked Karla where she wanted to eat lunch after she was done dancing. We were expecting something like McDonald's or Chik-fil-A so we gave her a few "nicer" options. She surprised us both when she said "the restaurant with the fish tanks." It is our favorite Chinese place and she has never asked to go there before! So she had Chinese for lunch. After we got home she opened one gift - a 5-pack of "high heel" shoes.

After her nap she opened one more present - a book, "Caps for Sale" from Daddy. We went to the park for a little while since it was nice and sunny and unseasonably warm. Grammy and Pap-Pap met us at the park. She got to open another gift - stick-on earrings with 2 matching rings. (Yes, I may have gotten carried away with gifts but I couldn't help myself...i don't think Jason could either!)

We all came back home and had tacos (K's choice) for dinner followed by chocolate cake! After eating Karla announced that her stomach was "packed." She was full! I haven't seen her eat as much as she ate today in quite some time.

Then she got to open MORE presents. She got a big, pink puffy skirt with matching leggings, an Aladdin and Princess Jasmine playset (little figures/little castle/clothes for figures), the "Beauty and the Beast" movie, and a Princess stamp/activity set with matching tea party.

Karla got several phone calls and watched some of her new movie before bed. She cried when it was time to go to bed. She said she didn't want her birthday to be over! We promised we'd celebrate for the next few days. Her family birthday party is Saturday so the fun WILL continue.

I will post pictures from today when I am not so tired. I wanted to post these pictures though...pictures of her on each birthday. Today I am reminded of just how blessed I am to have her and how very thankful I am for her. I even feel like being with her on her birthday is a treat for me...I guess because I missed her BIRTHday and her 1st birthday. I don't want to take birthdays for granted after that! I am also thankful that she is mostly healthy this birthday. I say that because I think she has a little cold now AND because last year she was recovering from a sinus infection and the year before she was in the hospital. So "YAY" for healthy birthdays together!! :)
BIRTHday (3 days old):

1 year old:

2 years old:

3 years old:


Today!

TWO YEARS

Two years ago today Karla arrived home in the U.S. with us! I feel like this is another milestone (for me anyway) because she has now been in the US longer than she was in Guatemala! Finally!! I am as excited about this day as I am about her birthday next week! Although I guess I am really looking forward to giving her presents next week. :)

I had signed Karla and I up for a zoo class today a few months ago. I was not happy when I woke up to the sound of pouring rain this morning. Luckily it did not rain while we were at the zoo! We went to our class about animal sounds and then went to see Karla's favorite animals. So of course we went to the reptile house first to spend time with the bats, tarantulas, scorpions, and snakes. Then to the aquarium where she labeled and told me about many of the fish there. I don't know how she remembers them all! Next we went to the monkey house to check on her favorite monkey - the one armed monkey. Once when she was at the zoo the monkey wasn't there and she has been concerned about it ever since.

We started to get cold so we left after only 2 hours of walking around. :) That is short for Karla...perfect for me.

Other fun things we did this week:
*Karla had a great check-up on Monday with her allergist and asthma doctor.
*We went to vote. Karla, Oso and I all got stickers.
*Visited the library
*Went to her first gym class called "Itty Bitty All-Stars." This week they learned about soccer and also attempted to kick a football. It was interesting because there was only 1 other girl in the class and 9 boys! Karla isn't used to so many boys. When they were all kicking soccer balls into the goals for practice she was kind of standing there with her ball waiting for her turn. She didn't realize you kick whenever you want and as many times as you can! I also noticed that she likes to be precise. She would take aim and look at where her ball was supposed to go before kicking it. It should be interesting.
*We went swimming. She loves swimming so much. I wish I did... I just don't like the "get out of the water and be really cold' part. It is fun to watch her try to keep her mouth shut (to avoid swallowing water) when she is smiling so much.
*She had dance class - and wouldn't give me any details.
*got together with church friends
*AND of course we spent hours playing Barbie. I remember she started liking Barbie's right before her birthday last year. We've been playing for over a year now..........


We took the rail off of Karla's bed this week and she was quite excited about that. She loves thinking that she is "big." In fact, all she wants for her birthday is cake and to be as tall as Mommy. I have had to try to explain more than once that it takes years to grow "tall." She was hoping she would wake up on her birthday and be "big."
Here is a picture of my big girl from a couple weeks ago.

Halloween Festivities

The past week has been so busy! We had several parties and Halloween celebrations. The real fun began on Wednesday at Karla's dance class. They were allowed to wear their costumes to their class and then at the end of the class they were going to "perform" for the parents. I have only seen her dance once since she started this new class so I was really excited. She did the "Monster Mash" and was of course very cute!

We have been planning for weeks that Karla would be Princess Jasmine for Halloween. She has also wanted a Jasmine birthday party for months. But when we found out she was allowed to wear her costume to dance, she said she wanted to be Belle because the costume was easier to dance in. It was fine with me since we already had a Belle "costume" that she has for dress-up.

Waving to me when I came into the classroom:

Waiting in line:


The next day we drove to Ohio to trick-or-treat with the cousins. I knew Karla would enjoy trick-or-treating with other kids! Last year she t-o-t (yes, I just made up that abbreviation) in our neighborhood with 6 adults. :) I teared up when she started t-o-t with the girls because she would run with them to the front doors and back down the driveways and then she shouted "I'm having so much fun, Mommy!" For some reason seeing her with other little girls I love "gets me" every time! And I love seeing her so happy! It was neat to see how she is more brave this year and would actually say "t-o-t" loud enough to be heard and "thank you." She even liked the fact that I stayed on the street with her aunt, uncle, and grandparents. :) Tio Eric did pull Karla and Audra from house to house in a wagon...we t-o-t'd for a long time! I was glad he had the wagon!



Saturday was our neighborhood Halloween parade and party. We had a good time visiting with neighbors and eating lots of good food.


Sunday was trick-or-treating in our neighborhood! This year it was Karla, Grammy, Pap-Pap, Mommy and Daddy. Karla, I mean Princess Jasmine, was brave again...but not quite as outgoing as earlier this week without other kids to keep up with. :)

Karla really is a very sweet girl. Tonight, at one of the first houses we went to they had big candy bars...and I knew which one Karla was going to pick. Butterfinger - because it is my favorite. Sure enough she did. I didn't say anything about it but thought it was cute. Then later, when she was all done t-o-t and we came inside she said she wanted to dump her candy out on the family room floor because that is what Mommy did when she was little. (Karla is always asking me and Jason to tell her about stories of things we did when we were little. I wish I could remember more! But one thing I told her about is how I dumped my candy out on the floor in the family room along with my brother and sister and how we'd pick some things out to eat, etc.) After she dumped all of her candy out and looked at a couple things she got the big Butterfinger bar and gave it to me. She said it was for me! I hadn't really thought she would give it to me...I thought SHE would eat it. How many kids give their mom their favorite candy before eating any of their own!?!? I don't think I did that when I was little. :) She does nice things like this quite often. I feel so lucky to have such a loving girl.

I think this month is going to fly by! We've got Karla's birthday celebration(s) and Thanksgiving. Karla is also starting a new gym class that goes for 6 weeks at the Y. It'll be Christmas before you know it!!

Another important date is this coming Friday...look for another post then...or the day or two after. :) Anyone know what we celebrate then!?!?

Cousins

Last weekend we had 3 of Karla's cousins come to stay for two nights. We all had a great time! Friday night we played at home and then watched a movie and ate popcorn. Saturday morning we made "snails" for breakfast....a tradition when they spend the night at my house. Then we went to the zoo. I hadn't thought about it being "Boo at the Zoo" weekend.... Traffic was awful and the zoo was packed! We finally made it into the zoo and thankfully all the girls had fun and enjoyed seeing the animals. I felt bad I didn't know it was Boo at the Zoo and didn't have the girls dress up. Shayla, the oldest, said "That is okay Aunt Jennifer, it is just fun to see all the kids in their costumes." :) I was really impressed with how polite and well-mannered those 3 little girls were the entire weekend! :) We went to CiCi's for pizza after the zoo and didn't get home till about 7pm! Whew!

I was going to have all the girls go to church with us but Sunday morning they were all playing so nicely in their PJs that I decided we'd stay home. It was odd because no one was asking me to entertain or play with them. I almost didn't know what to do...but the pile of dishes called to me. :) I got to listen to Audra and Karla playing Barbie's and singing and Shayla and Angelina coloring, joking and laughing with each other. It really was all music to my ears!!

It was the first time Karla had a "sleepover" in her room with a friend. She LOVED that part! Luckily the girls were so tired at night they went right to sleep.

TWO years ago today

One of the best days of my life:

Smiling at a picture of Daddy:



To see the post from Oct 13 last year, click here. Or click here to see the post I wrote the day I held Karla and never had to let her go ever again!!!

I should have taken a picture of all of us today!! Maybe tomorrow. :)
I am so thankful God gave us Karla....what a "good and perfect" gift!

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch. It was an unbelievably warm and sunny day! Karla had fun picking out the perfect pumpkins. A big huge one for Daddy, a medium-sized one for Mommy, and a little one for her. I'll have to take a picture of the 3 she picked out. The "mommy" and "little" pumpkin are pretty much the same size. :) We took so many pictures you will have to click here to view them all.

Picture Post

Modeling before dance class yesterday:

This girl does love to accessorize. She was disappointed she couldn't wear all of her "jewels" to dance.

I had to be sure to get a picture of the new shoes that SHE picked out last week when we went shopping. She HAD to have these because they have a little heel and look like Mommy's. :)

Hiding from me today:

Dairy Queen Story

At the beginning of the summer I was going to take Karla to swim at the Y one evening because Jason had an evening meeting. We got to the Y just in time for thunder and lightning to start. They don't let you swim in the indoor pool if there is lightning outside. We were both really disappointed because we had been talking about it and looking forward to it for a few days. I tried to think of something else we could do that would be fun. I decided to take her to Dairy Queen. She'd never been there before!! I decided it was time. We both got a blizzard - I thought she should try one. :) It was really cold in the restaurant so she asked if she could sit on my lap so I could help keep her warm. I was having such a nice time because we were just sitting there talking, eating and she was letting me hold her close. We were watching the storm outside. I remember thinking it was one of those moments I want to remember forever. Then it got even better. :) Several kids came in from a baseball game or something and Karla was very interested in them. She was really watching them. Once they got their ice cream a few kids sat down at a booth. As we were watching a mom came over to the booth and was going to sit down. The kids said "No! this is just for us kids." So the kids wanted the parents to sit at a different booth. Karla looked up at me with a confused face and said "Why didn't they want them Mommy to sit with them?" It was like she just couldn't understand why a kid would not want to sit with their mom. It was so sweet! I tried my best to briefly explain. Then she hugged me and said she liked sitting with me. It made my whole day. I've thought of it many times since then too.



Here is a funny story from the other day:
Karla pretended to take a picture of Oso and me with her "phone" (an old cell phone). She clicked the picture then said "Awwwww. I'm going to put this on phonebook!" I laughed and said you mean "facebook?" She said "yes, that's what I meant!" :) I thought it was funny because I don't have the phone capabilities to upload pictures on my phone to facebook..... Daddy must be taking some pictures of her too. :) Either that or Jason and I talk about facebook too much.

Marathon Weekend

For the past several years Jason and I have gone to Ohio for the Akron Marathon. My dad and brother and Jason's brothers plus one other guy my dad works with have had a relay team. This year, for various reasons, it was just my dad and Ryan along with some First Energy employees who had a relay team.

For some reason it is fun to be a cheerleader for marathon runners!

So this past Saturday we woke Karla up at 5:40 a.m. (the only day of the year that I have to wake her up in the morning)! We were at the starting "line" before 7 a.m. to see Grandpa start the relay race! Karla was a trooper. I know she was tired but she did lots of walking (and riding in the stroller) and never complained.

Each year they have a "Kids Fun Run" too. My nieces have run in this but I've never gotten to see them because I'm always walking to different points of the marathon to get a chance to cheer for everyone on the relay team. This year we got to see the kids finish the 1 mile "Fun Run". Next year Karla is going to run it with her Daddy and cousins.

They also have other fun things for kids like face painting. I think that was the highlight of the morning for Karla!

That afternoon we all took a nap and then went to a new playground with Karla's cousins, Tia Beth, Tio Eric and Grandma and Grandpa. It was a FUN and tiring day! I uploaded some pictures to flickr. Too many to choose a few.... Click here.

Am I Big Enough?

We decided to have Karla try the 4-5 year old Sunday School class at church even though she won't be 4 for 2 more months. We talked to her about it and told her she'd be in a different class and have different teachers. She'd been in the same class for the past almost 2 years so she was pretty comfortable there. We talked about it a lot on Saturday so she'd be prepared and hopefully not nervous on Sunday. Saturday night she said "Am I going to be big enough to go to the new Sunday School class?" I guess she'd heard us talk about it enough to know that she was going to it even though she wasn't 4 yet. I told her that yes, she would be big enough. Then Sunday morning when she woke up I went into her room. She was just laying in bed looking at me. She said "Mommy, you said I was going to be so much taller." It took me a minute to get it. She thought "being big enough" for the Sunday School class meant she was going to grow....over night! I wanted to laugh but didn't because I could tell she was truly disappointed she didn't seem to be any taller. For some reason she is always wanting to be taller, taller, taller. I remember being the same way when I was little so many that is just how kids are. Anyway, I tried to explain to her what I had meant by "big enough."

She definitely is taller though because I tried to put a long-sleeve shirt and pants on her that she wore only a few months ago, before summer, and both were too short and tight! I couldn't believe it!

She went into her new class a little slowly...had to give me a big hug and kiss before I could leave (which is FINE with me!) and then she was totally fine. I am so proud of my "big" girl. :)

Summer Review Part 2

***Saturday night Jason and I got to go to a wedding. Karla stayed home with Grammy, Pap-Pap and Tio Kevin. For some reason she really wanted her picture taken with Daddy in his suit. I'm not sure if it is because we had taken it to the cleaners so she felt partly responsible for his nice suit or what. So here they are:

Of course I wanted it to be a family photo opportunity so I jumped in too.


***We've started something we call "table time." I decided we needed to try to have a structured time on most days where we could work on preschool type skills. I thought it would be a challenge to get Karla to sit down with me to work on things but surprisingly it hasn't been and if I forget to do it on some days she will remind me!

***A few weekends ago we went with my parents and brother and his family on our "annual boating trip". Grandma and Grandpa rent a pontoon boat and get out their jet-ski and we spend the day out on the lake. It is always lots of fun! I didn't do the tubing this year because of my wrists but Karla and Daddy did!


Last year Karla really didn't have any fear (that I recall) but this year she was a little more hesitant. She didn't want to fall in the water off the tube...which of course is inevitable. She loves the jet-ski and was happy to get on it whenever it was her turn. She had one of the first turns this year because last year when her turn came...the jet-ski quit working. So she didn't get to ride it...and yes, she remembered that. So, she hopped on with Grandma and Grandpa and away she went! How many kids get to do that with their grandparents!?!?


I love this girl...


***The past 2-3 weeks of August were not pleasant for our little asthma sufferer. Nothing major happened...didn't even have to go to the doctor but did have to increase her nebulizer meds for a while and give the treatments more often. There were a few days when I felt like all we were doing were breathing treatments. She's still on slightly increased doses but breathing much easier!


***I have been wanting to take Karla to Moraine State Park to the beach all summer. We finally went last week with our friends Dama and Elizabeth. Karla likes the sand! I can't wait to take her to a "real" beach someday!!