Dear family and friends, who still stop by this little blog of ours despite my lack of posts in the last three months, I do have more pictures and videos to share. But that is for another day. For now enjoy this video of Caleb discovering his inner cowboy. Also his inner bobble head. We love him. :)
This past Friday night we had our first snowfall of the season. I love it when it snows at night because it's such a treat to wake up and see that the world outside has been transformed into a winter wonderland. Saturday morning the girls were so excited that the snow had finally arrived and were eager to get bundled up and get outside to play.
We only got about 3 inchs of snow but it was enough to build a snow man or two and make snow angles (Ella's favorite).
Caleb, who truly is the happiest when he's outside, LOVED the snow. I tried to get a picture of the kids together first thing when we got outside, but the moment I set him down he was off!
And like I said, he loved it. He seriously rallied around the yard...he laughed, he crawled in circles, he crawled from one end of the yard to the other. He did slip and do a face plant a couple of times, but just shook it off and kept on going. Unfortunately I don't have proper snow shoes for him and his gloves kept falling off, so after 20 minutes of crawling through the snow his ankles and hands turned bright red and I had to break up the party to take him inside to get warmed up. I sure hope this kid learns how to walk soon because it will make being outdoors SO much easier!
The one missing element which kept this first snowfall from being truly perfect was Chris. He was out of the town for the weekend so there was no Daddy to take the girls to the sledding hill. Kalai, especially, was bummed. The girls took a sled across the street to the park and tried to sled down the mounds by some of the big trees, but were disapointed to learn that mounds just aren't the same as hills.
Fortunately I think this is just the first of many snowfalls this year, and I know that these three snow bunnies will make the most out of each and every one of them.
We just wrapped up a fun-filled Halloween with three very special guests, Grandma and Grandpa Frerichs and their little dog Berkeley. We are so thankful they made the trip up to join us for a day of visiting, trick or treating and candy eating. Having them here was a treat in itself!
This year talk of Halloween costume began in September. I'm pretty sure that's what most kids in 4th grade talk about because Kalai talked about it just about every night at dinner. After running through the go-to costume ideas of fairies, ice princesses and such, she decided to be a chef which suits her so perfectly because over this past year she has shown a growing interest in cooking. So with a borrowed chef hat from grandpa, a super cool felt mustache and some flour on the face she was set. This was by far my most favorite costume she's chosen and she was super excited to wear it.
Ella went as princess this year, which honestly surprised me because she's such a tomboy in most other areas of her life. She's the girl who is always running with the boys and climbs on everything and will, 9 times out of 10, chose to play with a fire truck over a baby doll. But there is a side of her that loves to be pretty and sparkly like a princess. Recently someone asked her what she was going to be for Halloween. She said a princess. They asked what princess she was going as: Cinderella, Belle, Snow white? Her response: "No I'm going to be a princess. Princess Ella." (I do hope she knows this princess thing is just for Halloween.)
As for Caleb, I got in my mind a while ago to make him a garden gnome. Personally I think garden gnomes are pretty darling and with cheeks like his I thought he could pull it off. And fortunately he didn't mind the beard at all and kept in on all night.
Just look at our little gnome...Oh, so cute!
What a fun night! Now it's time to plan for this little gnome's first birthday...
The kids and I were home together all summer long. (And by the end of it there was a definite emphasis on long - for all of us I think.)
With Caleb needing a morning and afternoon nap, feedings and diaper changes, we stayed close to home this summer. I know this was a frustration to the girls who are always ready for an adventure, or at least an outing that lasts longer than an hour. (This conflict of needs and desires is undoubtably my biggest challenge in raising three kids so spread apart in age.) Yes, things felt a little monotonous at times and the house felt a little small and there seemed to always be something we were missing out on. But our baby was happy and well rested, and we did manage some great family outings and we spent a lot of time at the park across the street playing with the neighborhood kids. I personally tried to savor our fairly simple summer days of being at home together as I'm sure we'll never have another summer like this again.
And, really, before we knew it, September was upon us and it was time to get ready for school to start. This year the girls decided to get matching shirts for the first day of school. I love the one they chose. It suits both of them I think.
Kalai's first day of school was a rainy one, but it sure didn't dampen her spirits. The girl was SO ready for the 4th grade. She got the teacher she wanted and has a handful of her favorite friends in class. She gets to join the choir this year and has a classroom upstairs so she gets to line up on the opposite side of the playground now. All big steps for this soon-to-be 10 year old.
(Seriously, 10?! I can't believe it...) When she got home she told me how excited she was to be back at school and in the 4th grade because "being home with you is kind of boring." I took that comment in stride because, really, being home with me and a baby is kind of boring.
So with the oldest away at school, I was left with these two munchkins :) For a week anyway...
Like last year, Ella had to wait a week before her school started. She will tell you herself it was the longest week of her life. After asking me when her first day of school was for the millionth time on the first day Kalai was at school, we made a paper chain that hung in the kitchen to mark the days until preschool started. Every morning she went strait to her chain to remove a link. It seemed to help her get through the wait. When her first day FINALLY came, she then had to wait until noon, when her class started. It was seriously torture! (Note to self: Ella is a get up and go kind of girl. Avoid late starts at all cost.)
When we got to pre-K (Ella is always quick to correct that she's not in preschool anymore, but pre-K!) she was reunited with her best buddy, Ripley, from last year. These girls are two peas in a pod and are thrilled to be in class together again this year!
And so with the two big sisters back in school, it's just me and the boy. And on some days, his nap will line up with Ella's school time and I'll have a few quite moments to myself...which, after a summer of having three kids at home with me, is always a welcome treat.
Caleb has been scooting around for about a month now.
By way of scooting he'd eventually get to a different part of the room, or to the thing he shouldn't put in his mouth, or stuck under a table. But I never saw him get anywhere on purpose. He would just end up in a new spot because he was scooting.
But that all change this morning...
The kids and I were all in the kitchen. Kalai was getting her homework in order to take to school. I had put Caleb on the floor infront of the fridge to play with the magnets while I went to help Ella with the puzzle she was doing. As I was looking for a puzzle piece, Ella started to yell, "Look! Caleb is crawling! He's doing it!" The girls and I were surprised and thrilled to see our little man crawling, with great determination, from the fridge to the garbage can. After calling Chris to share the big news, (and moving Caleb away from the garbage can) we grabbed the camera to record Caleb's first moments of crawling. It's not your standard hands and knees crawl, but it works and has been getting him from here and there all day.
Tonight, somewhere in Europe (Germany I believe), Chris' youngest sister, Elisabeth (aka Lil) is having the time of her life as she celebrates her 21st birthday. (Seriously, can you think of a cooler place to turn 21?)
Tonight, in our cozy kitchen in Bellingham, Chris, the kids and I were getting a little creative as we attempted to write a poem for our beloved sister/aunt, affectionately titled "Fancy Auntie". (A little side note to our poem: Ella has just recently learned how to make words that rhyme. At meals or snacks we'll often play the rhyme game where Kalai or I will pick a word and she'll, very quickly, say back the first rhyming word that comes to her mind - mind you they aren't always real words.)
Our poem writing process went something like this:
MALIA: Let's start by making a list of the things that make Lil awesome.
KALAI: Lil's cute
ELLA: Lil's dute.
K: She likes pink.
E: She likes sink.
K: Lil's fancy.
M: Yes, she always looks nice.
E: Yes, she always looks pice.
K: She's really smart.
CHRIS: And she has a big heart.
E: And she has a big dart.
K: And Lil is really a speedy typer (she pretends she texting on a phone).
M: You mean texter.
E: You mean mexter, pexter, lexter...
(and then she says - more to herself then to us)
...Wow, I'm so good at rhyming!
:) Needless to say, we didn't get too far on our poem, despite the mad rhyming skills of our 4 year old. Instead we decided to sing, Lil, our own rendition of "Happy Birthday" complete with silly faces, chubby baby cheeks and a special apprearance by a gremlin.
Happy Birthday, Lil! We love you so very much and hope you had an absolutely amazing birthday.
