Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Goodnight!! 

Visit from AK!

We recently saw Jesse's aunt and uncle, Don and Cindy (his mom's brother and wife), who were visiting from Alaska!  Jesse was lucky enough as a child to go to Alaska and visit.  Hopefully one day we will get there again.  But as always, it was so fun to see them and so short!! 

Oops, I guess we didn't get a picture of Don!!  Sorry Don!  And isn't Allison's artwork beautiful??  She was putting on "makeup"!  AAAHHHH!!!  Luckily it was all washable markers!

TAGS!!

I know I previously posted about Kara's love of tags, well Grandma Linda bought her a new tag blanket!  Made by a lady she works with, it is sooo cute and soft!  She loves it.  It is so funny, she still always looks for the tag on a toy or finds it and sucks on it! 

Need.More.Time.

So much to do, so little time!!!  Seriously, how is it possible that Christms is 10 days away??  Well, at least I finally got my Christmas shopping done!  Now...to find time to wrap these presents!  Oh, well, the kids (I mean Allison, since Kara isn't mobile yet) wouldn't leave them alone anyway if I had them wrapped and under the tree!  Need to get a picture of the kids with Santa...I had my chance...  It happened by accident.  I went to St. Cloud to pretty much start and finish my Christmas shopping in one day (and get a haircut!) on Monday, and at about 12:30 Jesse calls and wants to know when I will be home!  He had an interview in St. Cloud (which I was very excited about!!).  So, what to do with the kids...well he brought them to me at the mall while he had his interview...great, but that was 2 hours I got basically nothing done at the mall!  ANYWAY, while we were walking around and I was trying to keep Allison from breaking anything, I saw Santa!  So we got in line.  While in line I realize poor Allie looks like a homeless child.  This is what happens when you are gone and dad is in charge and lets her dress herself and leaves like that!  Not that Santa cares, but I thought if I want to get a picture I wanted to dress them all up cute for it!!!  Well, I probably should have taken the opportunity because now I don't know when we will get to see Santa!!  Neither one cried and both sat on Santa's lap too!!  Allison told him she wanted a bunny for Christmas...not sure where that came from!  Anyway, also on my to do list, go see the light show on Eagle lake (I think that is where it is anyway).  Hopefully Friday.  I also wanted to see the Hollidazzle, but maybe next year, Kara will like it more next year.  Oh, and I guess I might as well just put away that box of Christmas decor I have still sitting in our living room that I didn't get around to opening!  If it isn't out by now, I don't think we need it!  We do have decoarations, I just found this box after I thought I was done and was gonig to put a few more things out.  But oh, well.  Baking to do Friday as well!!  I have no idea what I am wearing for Christmas, but at least the kids have cute outfits!!  Thanks Grandma Nancy!  OH, but that reminds me, I need to get Allison tights yet!  ANyway, right now on my list is sleep, so good night!

Kara gets Tubes!

Today was Kara's surgery day for her tubes!  Mom was very nervous.  First of all she couldn't have anything to eat/drink after 3 a.m.  Well, she sometimes sleeps all night and sometimes she gets up...so what to do, wake her at 2:30 or just pray she sleeps.  I went with let her sleep, and she slept ALL Night, I had to wake her to leave at 6:50 (and she was so tired the night before she had been in bed since 7:30).  I was so proud of her!  Lets hope that continues!

Striking a pose before surgery!

All ready to go with the CRNA.

Struggling to wake up after surgery!  She was soo sad!  :(

As far as the surgery, everything went fine.  She has some fluid in her ears which our pediatrician told us at her 6 mo. check up, so I knew that.  But because of that she needs to stay on the oral antibiotics for 10 days along with doing the ear drops for 4 days.  Oh, well, hopefully this is the last time for a while anyway!  She was/is kind of fussy after the anesthesia and procedure.  But that should be over by tomorrow (at least for Rhonda -our daycare lady's sake, I hope so). Thanks so much to Grandma Nancy for coming with and helping out!!

The numbers

Miss Kara weighed in at 17lbs 14oz and 27 1/2 inches long.  She is following the growth curve perfectly!!  Which we knew she was plenty chubby!!  And getting so big, she wears 9-12 month clothes already and that is because she needs the length!  People think Allison was not this chubby...here's her stats at 6 mo...17lbs 4oz and 26 inches long, so she was at LEAST as chubby since she was 1 1/2 inches shorter than Kara!  It is just hard to believe my skinny minnie had rolls like Chubbs (Kara :).  Anyway, we are just glad they are both healthy!!

6 Months!

I probably start every month post about Kara's age this way, but I can't believe she is 6 months already?!  How is it possible that my baby is 1/2 way to 1 year???  She is so much fun.  She is now eating cereal, fruits and veggies and she has even had a couple baby crackers, she LOVES it all!!  She is almost sitting on her own, will for a short time, but I like to keep the boppy around her yet...she gets a bit tippy especially when she is excited or reaches for something and forgets she is sitting up!  She rolls, but still only to her stomach!  The little stinker just won't roll back.  She is such a happy baby now, even with all her ear troubles!  Poor baby has had ear infections and is getting tubes on Tuesday.  I am looking forward to it, the tubes helped Allison sooo much and I am hoping for the same results here!  Unfortunately because she is so young when she is getting them, she will probably need at least one more set.  And hopeing after her tubes she will start sleeping through the night consistently...please?!  Right now she sleeps all night maybe 1 or 2x a week, but even when she does get up, usually we just feed her and she goes back to sleep.  Normally by 6 months I would be all about letting her "cry it out", but with her ear infections and she has had a cold, we get up with her and usually end up feeding her, then she goes back to sleep.  There are pros and cons to her sleeping all night tho...she goes to bed between 7:30/8 and if she gets up during the night (usually between 2 and 4) she will sleep until 7:30/8 (maybe longer, but we wake her by 8 so she will take 2 good naps).  If she doesn't get up during the night she will get up between 5:30 and 7.  If it is before 6, I try putting her back to bed.  Sometimes she will fall back to sleep, but sometimes she just talks in her bed, kind of funny, but I usually can't fall back to sleep then.  She had proffessional pics taken last week, so hopefully I can post a couple pics from that soon and she has her 6 mo. check up on Mon., so I will update then!!  Prayers for a good surgery on Tuesday please!  :)

Tag Baby

Kara LOVES tags!  If there is a tag on a toy/blanket, she will find it!  It is sooo cute!  Yes, she does have a taggies blanket, but she seems even more excited to find the tags on her toys!!  I love this age!  Hopefully a longer 6 mo. post to come!!

Dirty Thirty!!

The term coined by our MUCH younger :) friend when we got together to celebrate turning 30!  While I also am "MUCH" younger :)...we recently got together and celebrated 3 of my best friends who turned 30 this fall.  It was a MUCH anticipated and awaited girls night out.  We stayed in downtown Minneapolis and went to a piano bar (UGH,  mind block, I can't think of the name of it!!) that was a lot of fun and then we went to a couple "other" bars...  It was a fun night with many laughs and it was decided we MUST do it again this spring when their MUCH younger friend (ME) turns the big 3-0!  Miss Amanda has a few years, but we won't hold it against her!

The 30's!  Well...everyone but me!  :)

Celebrating Jamie's b-day, tradition to go to BL or H Thanksgiving weekend!