Fall Update (transitions and settling in)

It's been a busy and somewhat crazy fall so far.  The biggest hurdle we've had is Svea and Kieran both starting somewhere new.  Svea is at a all day every day preschool that is in a church.  We love it and now onto the third week she no longer cries and hangs onto us when she is dropped off.  Whew...it was tough to work knowing you left her like that even if you called the director and they told you she was fine after 5 minutes.  These next few pictures are Svea's first day of school pictures!

 Kieran started at a new home daycare and we really love her.  She is very sweet and a good fit for Kieran.  He either has amazingly sweet days where he is super polite or off days where he is acting out here and there.  He LOVEs school and rides the bus!  We had him start this on the first day as he was so excited.  The only time he cried when going to school was when I had to drop him off.  He cried for 30 seconds his teacher told me, so he obviously is loving it!  He walks in with Dan, goes to the wall to find his name tag and then finds his place at the table all on his own.  He knows his name and finds it every time even when the teacher switches up their name tags at the tables. K has his classroom pre-school teacher, a special ed teacher, a speech pathologist, and a deaf and hard of hearing teacher.  That kids gets a lot of attention.  No wonder he loves it so much.  They are all wonderful as well!

Svea started choir at the church this past week.  She was, of course, a little shy, but we told her next time she can't sit on the teachers lap and she needs to be brave.  The teachers are Jon and Linda who she knows extremely well so we know she feels good with them. 

 It's been warm so we are still playing in the sandbox, jumping on the trampoline, and going to the park.  Svea got a hand me down bike from a little girl at church and we ordered and put training wheels on it.  Well, Dan put them on:)  She took right off and it's the perfect fit for her.  We still can't find our air pump though from the move. 

Speaking of that....It's been one year that we've lived in this house! I'll have to do some before and after photos of the house.  Dan has been BUSY changing things here and there.  Some have been small and quick while others, like painting the kitchen cabinets have been a huge undertaking. I'm hoping for a slow down with the projects or at least little ones through the winter. The next few pictures are from Kieran's first day of school and Svea's second day of school!

I started my job and it's going ok.  I am feeling overwhelmed, but that is to be expected when you are the only person in my role with a district of 6,200 students.  Eeek!  It'll be ok, but right now I really don't want to talk about it because it just overwhelms me.  Lots of deep breaths!

 Kieran has been struggling a bit with his AN.  He mumbles at times and others he is very clear. In those moments he is SO much happier and I just wish this AN away.  It is SO incredibly hard and frustrating for all of us, especially him. He also had a virus for a few days so that not only makes him crabbier, but also affects his AN.  He is feeling much better now!  One funny thing he's been doing lately is requesting not only a dinosaur glass, but the triceratops one.  He knows them all by name....brontosaurus, triceratops, t-rex, teradactyl, and stegosaurus.

Svea seems so grown up.  She still loves to sing and lately has been into dancing a lot.  Her teacher told us that on the way home from the park she sang the little mermaid song all of the way home from the park.  She is getting along with all of her new friends at school and her teacher said they all love to play with her and that Svea is one of her best listeners.  We are so proud of her!

MEA (Long) Weekend

 Dan had a super busy weekend and I NEEDED to see baby Kye in Mandan, so the kids and I packed up and headed for Jamestown.  We headed out Wednesday afternoon, got to Jamestown around 7:30, and bummed around the house for the first two days. 

 Papa and Lynn came over to the buffalo city on Friday to visit for a few hours and they also brought Svea and Kieran each a new bike.  Svea loves the neighbor kids' bikes so she was so excited to ride her new one!  I don't think the smile left her face the whole time Papa and she were out there. Super fun and cute!

 I tried getting a pic of the kids and the Grandparents, but only one child would cooperate and then not even very well.  Kieran loves his paci and gets pretty ornery without it.  We try our hardest to keep it away from him during the day, but sometimes he gets so fussy.  I imagine with a busy almost 3 year old we give in more quickly than we did with her.

 I wish Kieran would have looked, but it's still cute!  Thank you Papa and Lynn for coming over and for the gifts.  We've read every Clifford book at least 4 times and Kieran has had fresh, clean, and super warm jammies all week!

 Gaga reading to Kieran before bed..."hey, Ma, watcha doing?"

 On Saturday I headed to Bis/Man to see Jill and Matt's new baby Kye Carter Morrison:)  He is so precious and sweet.  I got to hold him a ton, interact with him, and just watch him.  Grandpa Ron helped the kids decorate some pumpkins.  Mom was with the kids most of the day and I got home right before Kieran's bedtime.

 It feels like yesterday Kieran was this small:)

 Jill looks awesome and is a great Mom!!!  Matt and Jill are going to be wonderful parents!

I teared up when I got there and when it was time to leave:(  I probably won't see him again until next summer and he'll be 9-10 months already....sigh!  It was a fun visit though.  I got to have lunch with my cousins, Dad, and Lynn.  I got to see my Aunt and Uncle Connie and even snuck in a visit with Matt and Lacee when I dropped off some shoes and coats for Livia!!!  Matt answered the door in a one piece Cookie Monster suit.  It made the visit that much more special!  Ha...things are crazy for them, but they are slowly getting adjusted to their new normal in Bismarck.  I loved getting to sit and listen to Jill tell all about  the night Kye was born too!

 Beautiful pumpkins designed by Bay-ya!  Yes, she still calls herself that...we are working on it:)

 On Saturday night I went out for a few drinks with my good friend Amber.  It turned into all night and we had a blast.  I haven't gotten to sit down and talk to her without her 4 girls or my 2 kids running around since my bachelorette party/wedding!  It was great! She's lost a ton of weight since July when I last saw her.  I barely recognized her!

Kieran was being so silly when we were there.  Each night he got really hyper around dinner time and was giggly, laughing, and boppin all over the place.  We would put the cardboard pieces down on the floor (used to darken Svea's bedroom) and he would just march forever, which is his version of dancing.

I was exhausted when we got home and could barely stay awake on the couch for awhile.  Dan was tired too....he couldn't sleep while we were away...go figure, when you have the house to yourself and no little ones to wake up then you can't sleep:(  He had a wedding on Saturday and went to the reception, worked, and watched tv shows that I am not as interested in:)

So far this week Svea had her last swimming lesson and Kieran is now mooing like a cow and can say cow! I can't stress how obsessed he is with books.  That is what he did the whole way and back from ND is just read his books! Dan is getting over the flu (he's already been out from work for two days) and we are praying he gets over it soon and the kids don't get it.  We have a big birthday party this weekend that we all need to be healthy for:)

Wicked!

 Dan and I had the chance to go and see Wicked this past weekend with my cousin Josh and his wife Cindy!  They drove down for the weekend from Mandan and it was something we had planned since the Carter Family reunion.  I went to bed early the only night Dan was there and he and my cousins stayed up until 2:30 in the morning coming up with this plan.  It was a great plan:)

 We stayed in downtown Minneapolis, walked to dinner, and then walked to the Orpheum. The play was amazing!!!  I think I could watch it every night.  I got into the music much more the second time around and we listened to the cd all day in the car as we had a date day shopping around the cities! That is one thing Dan and I love to do together.  Not too many men would like that, but he is one of my favorite shopping partners:)

 Me and Cindy!

Us at The Rockbottom after the play.  We stayed out until 2 in the morning and it was fun to play like our younger days:) My Mom came and stayed with Svea and Kieran!  Thank you MOM!!!  I am so sad that Kieran is done nursing, but it's like a whole new world.  I love that period of time with both of the kids, but you do feel like there is still a chord attached to the two of you.  Both kids slept through the night (Kieran has been consistently for 2.5 weeks now) and they had a great time with Gaga!

So far this school year has been going well with balancing our work schedules and the kids.  I had conferences this past week and wasn't home Monday or Thursday night.  Dan put in some overtime and I missed seeing Kieran for 48 hours.  I'm so glad it's over! 

Our Weekend

There was a lot of running this weekend.  Dan and I pretty much tag teamed and it was busy, but fun with these two monkeys! There was a volleyball game on Thursday night that I took Svea to after Kieran had gone to bed.  Dan stayed home and we let Svea stay up way past her bedtime.  She handled it really well and sat and talked to people and sat in people's laps that she knew.  At one point though, we had to travel to the other side of the gym to sit by Peyton (her best friend from daycare).  Those two are so funny together.  They were jumping, twirling, and dancing in the stands.  It was some good volleyball too.  I LOVE watching!

 On Friday, Kieran went and got the stroller, put this monkey in it all by himself, and then started pushing him around.  He was so proud.  It's so fun to see him have his own mind and  try to express himself whether he's being silly or frustrated with his sister.

 He's likes to climb in baskets.  This weekend alone I found him in a total of four different baskets between home and church.

 Kieran likes to look out the window from his crib (thank goodness we got a chord free one since his room is so small and anywhere we put the crib he's be super close to it).  If we don't pick him up fast enough after he's woken up he walks over, pulls the curtain aside, and takes in the outdoor view.  When we open the door quietly he doesn't notice and that's how we know:)

 Svea came with me to the dentist on Monday.  She sat on my lap backwards and watched the whole process.  She was pretty shy with the technician, but warmed up a bit.  Hopefully it'll help her for when she has to go the dentist sometime after she turns three. She was excited to get stickers and a new toothbrush herself!

Hanging out in another basket reading his books.  He's REALLY getting into them.  It's so cute to hear him read to himself.  Kieran's language is taking off a little bit.  Dan walked into the kitchen the other morning and he said, "Hi Dah". It wasn't very clear, but it was obvious (if you were paying close attention) what he was trying to say. He also started saying "uh-oh" this weekend.  I was pulling out some more fall clothes and he was climbing in and out of his drawers saying uh-oh.

 Svea wanted to talk to "Ginger" (the talking cat) this weekend.  Did you know she unravels the toilet paper just like our cat?  Just like Meeko:)  Dan was busy this weekend.  He had to work on Saturday morning and Saturday night for a few hours.  In between he rented a sprayer to stain our fence.  We have a LARGE fence and he got the whole inside done in about four hours.  It looks FABULOUS!  I love it!

 This was Sunday morning after church.  Svea was making Kieran laugh, which was a little difficult to do as he was fighting sleep.

 You've seen Dan's super cute new glasses.  Here are mine.  They are VERY similar to his.  That's a compliment right? I had tried on his and liked them, but he said I couldn't get the exact ones.  So I didn't, but found some that a tad different:) I am LOVING them especially because I can wear them all day long and not get a headache like my old pair.  They were the wrong prescription and weighed about 20 lbs.  These are obviously correct and are as light as a feather!

 Svea's new hat!

 

OH boy....she looks so grow-up! We were trying on new jeans today.  I had a pair of 3T jeans that were hand me downs and they fit except for the length:) A few rolls and we called it good!  This is also a tank top that will maybe fit her next summer or the next, but she insisted on it.  It was a gorgeous day today (Sunday) and we soaked up a bit of time outside.  I love it when Svea wants  to go on a walk.  I push Kieran in his car (he drives) and she just wants to hold your hand, walk, and talk.  It's so sweet and I enjoy every second of it.

Dan is gone the first part of this week at the annual theological conference in Mankato. He isn't exactly thrilled about it, but I told him to enjoy the quiet time that he may get and the chance to hang out with a few guys he likes, and possibly sleep without a little boy or girl waking and crying. I'll probably be a just little late each day and get to experience what Dan goes through every day of getting the kids off to daycare.  I'm sure we'll be fine, but will be missing him and ready for him to return on Wednesday!!!  I think the biggest thing for me is not liking the feeling of me being at work and him not being right across the street from them during the day.  Weird, I know:)

This and That

Kieran is laughing here.  It looks like he is crying, but something was super funny.  For the most part he is usually pretty giggly.  We love it when he is in his high chair and you make little moves toward him with a goofy smile he throws his hands up in the air, throws his head back, and shakes his head "no" in excitement and anticipation of you coming over and tickling him. So fun!

 Cutie blue eyes:)  Dan started iQuest again tonight.  It's off to another great start!  We went to church last Wednesday night and there has been somewhat of a switheroo with the two kids concerning church.  Where Svea is now getting to the age where she is entertained by coloring, looking at books, dancing to the music, etc. during the service it's Kieran who is just starting to get wiggly.  The last couple of times we've had to leave and head to the toy room because of the Mr.

 Speaking of church.  Svea is so fun to watch during the songs.  She loves to dance and she closes her eyes sometimes and does her ballet moves complete with twirls and bows.  I seriously cannot stop smiling ear to ear when she does this.  It is so precious and I wish I could just etch some of these memories into my brain and never forget them.

 I LOVE this picture of these sweet pigtails.  "Take a picture of me jumping Mommy"!

 Kieran is filling his pants here.  Nothing else is going on here:)  Ha! We have a large handful of times that Kieran is sleeping through the night!!!!!!  I seriously want to have a huge party to celebrate:)  Woo hoo!!!  I LOVE picking the kids up at Lynda's every day.  He gets this huge genuine smile on his face each time.  It makes you feel so special.  I just love being his Mom:)

 Superhero Svea.  We fashioned these glasses together from a tool we received from Zenni optical when Dan and I received new glasses. She wanted to be a superhero just like her Daddy did when he was little:) We are loving our new glasses.  I'll have to do a post on those because they are so much fun!

 Showing off her muscles.  Don't you love a superhero who wears a pink skirt?!

Such a busy guy....Kieran likes to close the doors after he leaves a room.  He's pretty careful and good at it as well.  He's giggling about something here too.  I'm floored by his athleticism and how easy he gets around walking.  Pretty soon he's going to be working out with us in the basement.  Svea does btw.....she takes the remote controls and makes faces in between coloring sessions.  It's kind of fun to bring her down with you.  The only trouble is when she tries to climb on your back during push ups:)

It's just a normal week around here. Work, church, and spending evenings together when we can at home.  Until the next post and random pictures:)

Our Rainy Weekend

Well, it certainly felt like fall this weekend.  It was cold and rainy since the moment we got home from the apple orchard on Saturday.  Dan and I were going to go to an outdoor concert in the next town with some friends from my work, but it rained, so we ended up going to someones house for a couple of hours.  It was super fun!!  We came home pretty early though since Dan had to be up for work this morning. 

 Kieran will NOT walk in shoes....well, at least this pair.  I did try on a different brown pair for church on Sunday and he walked in those:)

 An attempt at a shot of the two of them.  Something was too funny though!

 Saturday afternoon after Svea got up from her nap she said she wanted to go outside to play.  I told her it was raining, but we did have a rain jacket and rubber boots that a co-worker friend gave me.  They are just the right size for her!  So away into the rain she went!

 She was a little timid at first, but then was giggly.  Dan took her out again later too:)

 Kieran loves playing with this kitchen just like Svea did at this age. I remember this age with Svea so well since I had just found out I was pregnant with Kieran.  Time flies!

 Our little peanut.  Here he is all dressed up for church on Sunday.  He looked so handsome (in his 9 month outfit) Ha!

 Svea insisted on dressing herself this morning.  She did pretty well I must say. 

 Pink shirt (that is really last year's dress, black pants, pink shoes, brown leopard tutu skirt, white sweater, and of course a bow, which she just pushed down over top of her hair and kind of looks like a flapper.  I'm not sure, but it's messy and cute:)

Dan is watching football now and it looks like the sun is coming out so maybe we'll be able to enjoy a little time outside before this weekend is over!