New Do's

The girls finally got haircuts yesterday. They have been needing to go in for awhile. I have wanted to have Kaitlyn's hair cut this way, but didn't think it would work with us growing out her bangs and all. I think they turned out sooo cute. We just love Kaitlyn's hair. Ashley's curls are beautiful, I wish my hair would curl like that. They had so much fun though and it still amazes me that Kaitlyn will sit so still. To top it all off Ashley got two new pairs of cute jeans. That girl is getting so tall and outgrowing her clothes... again. We had a fun day, except the cold weather.
We also found out that the loan for the building went through. What a relief. We were getting very worried Kyle would run out of work. We still don't know what comes after this project. I am hoping the economy picks up soon.

Snow/Cold Day!!!

What else do you do on a snow day?? We had fun painting toenails and watching a movie with some popcorn. Seriously, what else are you suppose to do when it is that cold outside.

Spaghetti, nothing a little soap and water won't fix. You gotta love her!

Clear Skin?!?

Kami had her doctors appointment yesterday, no shots !!! She is doing very well and weighed in at 17.44 pounds and 29 1/4 inches. She is 93% in her Height. My child, who knew. Developmentally she is doing great. However, one of the first things he noticed was her rash, how could he not. I explained the history of the rash and that we have tried everything imaginable, even taking away all foods except the formula. I did not tell him about the looks I get or the "diagnosis" I hear from everyone. I did tell him all the foods I thought it could be and how we switched soaps and bathing rituals. His diagnosis "it is just a rash telling us she is more sensitive and prone to allergies". What! I already knew that! The solution: a steroid cream we apply four times a day. Thankfully, the cream seems to be working. I know you are asking why I didn't take her in earlier. Well, we thought about it, but every time we were going to she seemed to look better that day. We resolved to wait and in the mean time try everything we could think of. The only helpful advice I received was from a gal in our ward who has been through the same thing with her kids. I think she understands my frustration. After the rash was discussed it was onto her milk allergy. The poor girl, we gave her a biscuit with milk in it and she got so snotty she could hardly breathe. She is still recovering. His suggestion "wait until she feels better and try again". Okay, I love having to suction her every couple of hours and the screaming, yeah right. It was a fun little trip, but at least we got the cream- keep you fingers crossed. I did discover she has two more teeth that popped through. She now has a molar and a canine on the same side. I haven't been able to tell if there are any more. She bites my finger when I stick it in her mouth. So, for now that is a total of ten teeth. Kami is getting very good at pulling herself up on everything and getting into everything. She does think she can walk better than she can and our hardwood floors aren't very forgiving. She literally follows me around all day. Oh the separation anxiety. She has already had her fair share of bumps and bruises and more to come. I love the "banged up" stage when it looks like social services needs to come visit. The difference: we are doing this with hardwood this time. She does love her new found freedom though and I am glad to see her developing so well. She really tries to keep up with her sisters.

Monkeys hanging from her ears!

Kaitlyn is really coming out of her shell. It is a little sad to think that this may be because Ashley is in school. I have seen a huge difference in her though and she has become such the little helper. She is really enjoying her "mom time" even if she has to share it with Kami.
I am so ready for spring. Kyle keeps telling me that we are only halfway through winter. I am ready though and I thought maybe "springing" up my blog would help- not really. I am enjoying the cosmetic sunshine we have had from inside the house. Why does it have to look so nice outside but really be so cold? I have been enjoying the slower pace of January and have managed to get a few projects done, with many more to go. I have been putting off the bathrooms lately though. Bathrooms are the one job I absolutely detest. I would rather do ANYTHING else. Even now I am blogging and not cleaning bathrooms, and honestly I can't believe what two little girls can do to a bathroom! Toothpaste everywhere, yuk. I know what my day will bring!
We signed our refinance papers last Friday- 4.8%! The only hesitation was going back to thirty years. We figure that we keep our monthly payment the same and we will save in interest and pay it off earlier.

Nine Months

Kami is nine months old today. It is odd to think that I carried her as long as she has been with us. Kami has her doctors apointment next week so I will have her stats then. Kami has really grown in the past month. Her vocabulary has really expanded. She now says mama, dada, nana, sister and her version of more. Kami stands on her own- until she realizes it. She also started taking steps and loves to walk to us. She pulls herself up on everything and she even started crawling. She arm craws and occasionally crawls "normal". But my favorite is; when she is on her tummy she bear walks her butt up and then plops down and that is how she sits up. Kami is an eater. We have to monitor her, she will eat until she gets sick. Kami loves food and she loves to feed herself. She doesn't care for baby food but loves whatever mom is eating. Bath time is Kami's favorite part of her day. She loves to splash and play in the water. However, nap time is her least favorite part of the day. I think she thinks she is missing too much when she is asleep. We love Kami's sweet fun spirit. She is such a joy to have around!

We went to Leo's tonight and the girls had a ball. I had to post this picture. I love Kaitlyn's red face. You can tell how hard she was playing. They had so much fun, but it still didn't help with the dreaded grocery shopping.

HOUDINI!

Poor Kyle has fixed the fence like four times in the past couple of weeks. Somehow Sam manages to get out every time. We aren't sure where he is getting out. We have quite the Houdini on our hands. Thankfully he stays in the yard though. By the way, he is technically still a puppy and still growing!

Kamryne's first apple. She was so delighted when Ashley shared with her. She had some sticky fun with this.

She has also learned how to open the drawers in the kitchen. She was so proud of herself. I guess it is time to get out the baby locks- Kyle hates them! I can't believe how fast she is growing. I will post more next week when she turns nine months.

Also, our appraisal came back on our house yesterday and I was shocked! I thought everything was declining in value, but we were very pleased with the number we got and we haven't even finished the basement yet! We should be signing our refinance papers on Monday- 4.8% I think we did good.
Happy Birthday Briant! Enjoy your game.

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2009! Wow! It has been a busy year for us. We have accomplished so many things in such a small time. To be honest I am still writing 06 on my checks. Some of the highlights this past year; many new animals, partial basement remodel, Kindergarten, ten year anniversary, and of course Kamryne! I could go on and on. We rang in the New Year apart for the first time since we have been together. Kyle was at the YM/YW dance chaperoning. I stayed here with the girls. We did make a night of it with Jen and her kids since Brody was also at the dance. I think the kids made it to the New Year. No one wanted to go to bed, they were having too much fun! We had pizza, dip, rolls, and bread sticks. All yummy. And when the guys got back we visited until 330 am. Kyle then said "want to watch a movie" yeah right! We always have so much fun with Jen and Brody, we always stay up way to late too! After they took off we went to bed and got about 5 hours before Kami was up for the day. We headed to the Baldwin's today for more food and games. We had fun and everyone was able to make it (the Idaho group anyway). I kicked butt in Clue and beat everyone twice! We got to see Missy's awesome photos of Costa Rica. I am still so jealous! All in all it was a good day and a good way to ring in the year, even if it wasn't our traditional way!
And by the way, all the girls are passed out in their beds, and I will be shortly! Kyle is watching his movie, finally!
Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas

Well it is over. I can't believe it. This year went by so fast. I wasn't fully ready for Christmas and now it is almost New Years. We had a great Christmas though. On Christmas Eve we visited our families and had some good food. Then we came home and opened new pajamas, we sang carols and had hot cocoa then off to bed leaving Santa cookies and milk, and carrots for the reindeer. The girls woke up promptly at 4 am! They were told to "go back to bed" for a couple of hours, I don't think Ashley slept at all. We then got up at 630 and opened presents. The girls got pretty much everything they asked for. They didn't ask for much this year, we were a little preoccupied. Kaitlyn got her cars and Ashley got her Barbie. Santa also left two new sleds that we tried out later. They had so much fun opening everything and Kami even got in on some tearing action. The girls got a V motion for their big gift. I know, I swore we would never own a video game system. This is like a kids version of the wii and requires physical movement to participate. It really was a good Christmas, and was quite different for us this year. We were busy with some service we were doing and that took the focus off of the materialistic part of Christmas. So, this year we focused more on Christ and what he did for us and how we can be more like him. I think we all enjoyed the change. We had such a fun afternoon sledding out front, Kyle made a huge hill with the tractor and we had a ball sliding down on the new sleds. We had such a wonderful relaxing day. I hope they can all be like this. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!