Nativity Set

Since Grace is still horrified at the thought of Santa, we've been concentrating on the real meaning of Christmas this year. She loves to hear about Baby Jesus and the Christmas story. We have a nativity set we received from our good friends when we got married and this year Kate gave Grace a set in the hospital. She loves playing with both.

Every year a local church does a live nativity scene and when I saw it advertised this year, I knew Grace would love it. Kate and I were still laying low and Jack was exhausted from working and taking care of us so we asked Grace's Aunt Kristen and Jeff to take her. We were so excited they agreed. Grace was pumped to be going to the "nativity set." No matter how many times we corrected it to "scene", she kept calling it "set," so nativity set it was. She had a really good time and talked about it (and the hot chocolate and cookies) for weeks. It was very cold so we really appreciate them taking her- she loved it!

Doctor Visit #2

After our first doctor visit for Kate, the doctor asked that we come back the next week to check Kate's weight. Jack and I were a little nervous about the visit because when Grace was this age, she didn't gain enough weight and I was at the lactation office of the hospital every other day for weeks weighing her. We didn't want to have to do the same thing with Kate and we really didn't want to give up her every 4 hour feeding schedule for a shorter time interval.

She did great- gained 14 oz in 9 days. More than enough. We are back on track for our 2 month visit in January.

While we were at the doctor, our VERY nice friend Amy came over to watch Grace and brought Lily, of course. Jack had a meeting right before the appointment and since it was my first time driving, I wasn't ready to take both Grace and Kate. From the looks of the pictures I found on my camera, the girls had a great time! Thanks Amy and Lily!

Purple Day

These "color days" pictures are apparently getting annoying for Grace.

I had picked out a different purple shirt but she remembered she had a purple big sister shirt and insisted on wearing it.

It's So Nice....

Grace was looking at Kate and looked up and said "Mommy, it's so nice to have a new baby. I love my new sister." (Grace- I hope you always have that pure love for her. I've frozen this memory in my mind to recall when you are teenagers.)

So Sleepy...

We are very lucky that Kate still only wants to eat every four hours but every four hours at night is starting to catch up with us...

Girls, Girls, Girls

Kate made the total three granddaughters for my parents. And we just found out there will be four girls in May when Craig and Laura have their baby. Here is a cute picture of the three cousins with their Nana and Papa at Thanksgiving.

Kate- Three Weeks

Everyone's Sharing

No problems with sharing yet....I walked past Kate to notice Elliot's favorite toy of the season and Grace's two dollys, her favorite friends.

Caroling

Our church had a night of caroling and hot chocolate and Jack decided to take Grace to get her in the Christmas mood. It was about 30 degrees outside but Grace didn't seem to mind. Grace's best friend from school, Sophia, was there with her mom and sister. Grace worships Sophia and her mom, who was her teacher last year. Apparently Grace abandoned Jack and snuggled up with their family for the caroling. Grace had a good time and learned lots of Christmas carols. When she got home she was singing them all for me but did not allow anyone to sing along- she actually got quite upset when we tried- she's a one woman show. According to her, her favorite song was "Up on the house top, click, click, click."

Birthday Parties with Daddy

The first weekend in December, Grace had three friends with birthdays celebrated in two parties. Since I wasn't really getting out yet and Kate was too small to be exposed to germs during this cold and flu season, Jack was nice enough to take her to all her events.

On Saturday, Grace went to her friends Emma and Madelyn's birthday party where they turned 3 and 1. It was at Gymboree and from the looks of the pictures, Grace had a great time!

On Sunday, Grace's friend Miriam had a birthday party for her 2nd birthday. There was lots of things to play with and eat and Grace had lots of fun.

Grace and Lily had a good time playing together

Grace loves playing with her older friends and was excited to see Anna Grace at the partyGrace loved taking a turn at the pinata. She wasn't able to break it but was happy to partake in the prizes.

New Song

This past Sunday I was taking Grace to church. She was pretty quiet in the backseat. I was listening to the radio and in particular the Donna Summers song "Hot Stuff." All of a sudden Grace shouted at me from the back seat, "Daddy, Daddy, this song about pasta!" She was so excited to "hear" a song about her favortite food (hot stuff sounds a lot like pasta in the song). We then sang the song together with these revised lyrics:

"Gonna have some pasta maybe this evening, gotta have some pasta baby tonight ... "

Christmas Tree

Every year on the first weekend of December we have our annual light party (when we put over 30,000 lights on all our ceilings and walls and have our friends over to guess the amount). We decided not to have it this year for the first time since I was in college. We decided to use the time instead to put up our family Christmas tree and decorations. I remember thinking last year that Grace had a good time but I had no idea she would have an even better time this year. We told her earlier in the week that we would be doing it and she kept asking Jack to bring up the decorations so we could get started. She had the best time going through the ornaments, asking where each one came from and whose it was. She also enjoyed the hot chocolate we all drank which has become a family tradition when we decorate the tree. She was partial to two branches in the front so our tree's a little lopsided but we love it anyway.Kate slept through most of the excitement

Grace wanted a better look at her work...

That poor branch...Grace found a Santa hat in the decoration box and has been wearing it ever since.

Behind the Scenes- Potty Training

In addition to getting used to our new baby, there has been some other exciting things going on in our house- potty training, again. When Nana was here, she took it on as a special project and we are continuing her work. Jack and I will be the first to admit that the reason Grace isn't trained is us- we just haven't been good about reminding her to go. When we do, she usually goes.
So when Nana was here, she kept a close eye on the clock and a hand on the skittle bag and she and Grace made some great progress.
Now that we are with her, she's been doing pretty well. Her grandma bought her a "potty watch" that plays a song at set intervals to tell you when to go potty. Grace is very devoted to the watch- whenever it goes off- she yells "it's potty time" and runs to the restroom. Luckily the watch has an override button and will play a song when you push it. Jack and I will ask her if she has to go and if she says "no" we'll hit the button and she's run to the bathroom and go. She's going to catch on to that one day....
Going #2 is a different story. She wasn't so good at that at first. We promised her a Dora radio/walkman if she went in the toilet and it took about a week but she finally did it. Of course the next day, we had it take it back. It went back and forth for about a week.
Here are a few of my favorites from Grace's mouth-
"Daddy- want to come and poop with me?"
Jack threatened to take away the Dora radio if she didn't go and she looked right at him and said "Take it"
Then we tried tv.. Jack told her no more Diego on tv until she went. She said "and no Dora or Backyardigans either"

Then Jack did something a little crazy- he offered her a Dora, My Little Pony, Princess, Ariel castle and Ariel doll if she went. If you know anything about toys- those brands aren't the same and a castle with all of them would be impossible... And wouldn't you know it.. she went and wanted her castle. Jack went to many stores to find something that would satisfy her. He ended up with an Ariel stamp and marker set in a backpack that sort of looks like a castle. I think she was so excited about the markers- since there was a ban after this- http://thebusycarneys.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-color-on-myself.html she took the prize.
Since I'm behind on this blog, this is part past, part real time. As of this date, she's doing great with her #2 and with the potty watch, great on #1.

As part of our daily talks about Santa to try and ease her fears, Jack was telling her about Santa bringing her presents. She said "No, I just go poop and get presents. No Santa"

Smiley Kate

Besides for being a good baby (knock on wood, fingers crossed, etc., etc), Kate has a great disposition and is always smiling. She is so fun to watch sleeping because at least once every few minutes she breaks out into a big smile. And when she's awake, she seems to smile at the most appropriate times- her timing is great. We love our smiley Kate!

Stroller

Some of you might remember our shopping trip to Babies R Us when we picked out our double stroller and Grace lifted my shirt in the middle of the store to show the baby the stroller. That was about a month ago.

We had been home with Kate about a week and Grace randomly asked "Where's our new stroller? Where's the stroller for Baby Kate and me?" We were very fortunate that our friends got together and purchased the stroller for us but we hadn't received it yet. Luckily it came in the next day and we asked Engineer Uncle Jeff to assemble it. Grace was very excited and couldn't wait to ride in it! Grace has lots of adventures planned for her and Kate in the stroller...

Move Over Dollys

Ever since Grace's bear Pumpkin came into our lives, Grace has wanted to take it to bed with her along with the dollys. And then she started adding...every night she asks for something new and doesn't want to take anything away. Pretty soon there will be no room for Grace....

This can't be comfortable....

Snuggler

Before we had Kate, everyone told us that it's amazing how different your kids can be. We were afraid that meant Kate was going to be a difficult baby since Grace has been so good but so far that hasn't been the case (I'm really afraid of jinxing myself ;o)). They look completely different from each other but that's not their only difference. Kate loves to snuggle! Grace didn't like to be held too closely, swaddled or anything close- still doesn't. Kate, on the other hand, loves to be held, swaddled and will instantly snuggle into anything close to her. As soon as I pick her up, she buries her head into my shirt and would be happy for hours. We're trying not to spoil her too much but it's so fun to have a warm cuddler on these cold winter days.

Last Helper Leaves...

After my parents left, my sister Sarah and Isabella stayed with us for several days. They were a big help- Grace loved played with Isabella and Sarah continued to help us get adjusted. We were sad to see them go..

The shirt Isabella is wearing says "I'm the Big Cousin"- Sarah and Jeff gave Grace that shirt to tell us they were pregnant with Isabella. And we gave it back to tell them we were pregnant with Kate. Pretty soon it will be Kate's turn to wear it ;o)

Big Sister is a Big Help

So far, so good. Grace as been really good and adjusting well to having a new sister. She always asks to help with changing the diaper, baths and feeding her. She even likes to "see Baby Kate's little poops."

We have had company the entire time Kate's been home so Grace has had someone to play with her the entire time, we'll see how it goes when we get back to "normal life."

Fun Times

I think one of the main reasons Grace likes having a new sister is all the attention she's been getting- it's been non-stop visitors to play with. Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving.Has anyone seen Uncle Craig?

Matching Outfits Here We Come...

One of the many advantages of two little girls... matching cute outfits! Here is our first match- I'll admit it's not a pretty dress but since we didn't know that Kate was a girl, we weren't prepared. We are big Packer fans and they were on Monday night football so it was perfect. Too bad they didn't win....

Kate- Two Weeks

Kate's First Trip to Doctor

Kate had her first checkup one day before her two week birthday. Our neighbors gave us this super cute jacket for Kate to wear outside in the cold weather. I was actually glad it was cold so she could wear it out. It's still pretty big so we'll be able to wear it for awhile.

She did well at her appointment- it was neat to hear her name called for the first time- she's her own little person!

Stats- weight 8lbs 6oz and height 21 inches. Her weight was not back to her birth weight so we made an appointment to go back in a week. She's been drinking 4 oz every 4 hours which is pretty unusual for a newborn and we hope to keep it that way but might have to increase the frequency if her weight doesn't come up.

Accepted by All

There is a 5th member of our family that doesn't get mentioned much in the blog but he was our first baby. He has his faults of barking too much, eating tissues, my clothes, etc. but we'll take all of that because he is so good with kids. He was so great with Grace when she was little and even made a game of letting her pull his hair so he could get a treat for not reacting. We were hoping he was going to be as good when there was two kids. As you can see- Elliot loves Kate just as much as we do.

More Visits from Family

On Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, Aunt Jennifer and Joel came over to meet Kate with Grandma and Pop, Aunt Kristen and Jeff. I think Grace had the most fun playing with everyone but Kate was glad to see everyone. Grace had everyone playing outside, dress up and with all her toys- thanks for everyone for playing!