Step Back Saturday

And we have one more post for this evening. This is a look back at this week in history. Not in "big history" but in our since-kids history.

November 2004. Me and my little guy.
November 2005. Evan posing and showing off his smile.

November 2006. Typical Evan and Kendra, always at least one of them picking at the other, just because.

November 2007. This is a 2-picture set in honor of Evan's haircut today. This is a before and after look at his haircut from this week last year. As many times as I've looked at his before and after hair pictures, I still can't believe how much a haircut changes the shape of his face!

Time for the parent figures in this house to hit the hay and hope for a more sleep-filled night than last night.

Need bread?

Last weekend, Chad's mom gave us 2 starters for Amish Friendship Bread/Herman, or whatever else you may have learned it to be called. I am not going to try to push the starters on anyone. I'm going to very willingly bake it all instead of keeping starters or just throw the extra away. But I'll put an offer out here in case anyone wants any. Let me know by Tuesday, as that is baking day. Or, if you don't let me know until after Tuesday, I will be keeping one starter for us, so you can have one from the next go-round in 10 days.

This week in pictures

Here are a few pictures from this week. Enjoy!

This is Kendra ready to "go Christmas shopping". She has her backpack and a wonderful selection of footwear!

And she posed for the 2nd picture, which doesn't show her stellar choice of accessories but is way too girly of a pose to pass up sharing.

This is Laura finally getting a turn with her new stroller/walker. This picture is from earlier in the week when she was feeling fine.

Here are Evan and Kendra playing "potties" with a doll and a Pooh bear. They had had their doll and bear pottying in a "little potty" (ie. toy buckets) and then dumping the "little potty" into the "big potty" (ie. the Bumbo). At some point they decided they needed to potty along with the doll and bear (fully dressed and just pretending, not actually pottying in the living room). So, here you have Kendra and her doll each on a bucket and Evan sitting in a hard hat.

Here is Laura no longer feeling ok. She had some nasty flu bug since during the night Wednesday night. This picture was from Friday night while she was taking a brief reprieve from her puke-a-thon. (By the way, it is absolutely amazing how much a little tiny tummy can hold.) Today her temperature was finally down, and she played some. She didn't eat any food until supper tonight, but I spent a couple of days very, very thankful that she still nurses and was willing to nurse nearly constantly so she never got dehydrated at all. She was also still pretty worn out today, but she was at least a little perkier.

And, just so we can end on a happier note than that last picture, here is a video of Evan and Kendra's game tonight. It had been going on for quite a long time when I finally decided to get the camera. I thought maybe Chad would like to see it from my perspective. I know I certainly wouldn't have wanted to see it from his end of the game.

In case you're curious, no our kids don't watch any type of wrestling. This is apparently a jump/attack that people inherently know.

A look back...

For those of you who have listened to me comment/gripe/whine about Kendra's sleeping habits for the last oh, say 31 1/2 months or so, I thought now that I have a video-sharing tool like a blog, I'd share a couple videos of newborn Kendra. Below you'll find 2 separate videos of how she slept at the age of roughly 3 weeks. Make sure you have your speakers on!

Did she always always always sound like this in her sleep as a newborn? Yes, absolutely (when she'd sleep, that is). Does she still sound like this in her sleep? Thankfully, no (when she sleeps, that is). Does she sleep through the night yet? Not so much. But she did stay in her bed all night the last 2 nights, so I'm hoping we're on an uptrend again!

Nursing and funny daughters

2 separate but somewhat related stories.

1. Laura babbles a lot. Occasionally a real word comes out by accident. Usually it has nothing to do with what's going on. Sometimes it does. This afternoon I was sitting in her room nursing her before her nap. She unlatched, tweaked me, and said "mine". I laughed while telling her about ownership, usership, and things of that sort.

2. Shortly later I was sitting on the loveseat with Kendra trying to get her to settle down and at least rest for a while. I was wearing a v-neck sweater. Kendra was holding a baby doll. Suddenly I realize the doll's face and nose are meandering around my chest, and Kendra is saying "mmm...yum...eat this." I come back from my half-asleep daze and ask "what's your baby eating?" The answer: "hair". Oh good because I really didn't want to start nursing dolls too!

Skips a generation?

Today Evan told my mom, "Grandma, you're so smart." This is from the same boy who, while eating dinner at Chad's parents' house over the weekend, leaned over and whispered very quietly in my ear, "Mommy, you're a little tiny bit stupid."

Stuffy-headed picture post

We went to Chad's parents' house this weekend and got back aroun 4 this afternoon. While we were there, Chad and Kendra decided to lovingly share their "crud" with me. So, you're getting a picture post of the last week from a stuffy-headed, sleepy mommy. Pardon anything in this post that doesn't make sense. Comment with your questions if I'm really not making sense.

Laura and her I'm-11-months-old-today smile.

Kendra and her curious look.

Evan and his very-mad-at-mommy look.

Laura's baby food for this weekend. I thought it was really pretty, so I took a picture. That, and now I have picture proof that I made homemade baby food for at least one of my kids, and at least one of my kids is "eating a rainbow". In case you're wondering what all it is, from left to right on the top tray then the bottom tray, it's peaches, grapes, plums, avocado, peas, zucchini, white pumpkin, and carrots.

Laura playing with Grandpa. Or maybe it was Grandpa playing with Laura.

On Sunday night, Chad's mom's family came over to see us (where "us" means "the kids") and to have an early birthday party for Laura (even though I'm in denial that she's getting so close to being the big 0-1). Here's four pictures from that evening.

Chad's grandma's friend Joe reading to Evan and Kendra.

Laura and her cake that she didn't eat any of. (She barely stayed awake to watch Daddy open her presents; she was too sleepy to figure it out herself.)

She at least watched while he opened them for her.

But she was really a lot too tired to want a picture taken with the cozy sweatshirt from Chad's grandma.

This morning while Chad and I were trying to think about packing to head home, Evan and Kendra sat down in the chair in the room we were staying in (Chad's parents' room -- thank you, both of you!) to read a Bible story to Laura's new stuffed lamb. Kendra made up the story of Jonah based on the pictures. I didn't catch all of what she was saying, but I did hear the part about "the whale spit him out and he choked".

On the way home today, Laura was either very happy to be heading home to her own bed/toys/floor/house, or she was happy to have Mommy sitting in the backseat with her. Either way, this is a smile I love!

And this is a movie I promised Chad's mom that I'd post. They gave Laura an absolutely adorable doll stroller/walk-behind toy. We waited to put it together until we got home today since it took up much less room unassembled in the box than it would have assembled and ready-to-play. So I took a video of her trying it out for the first time. (She hasn't had a chance to touch the stroller since the camera turned off. Evan and Kendra have confiscated it as their own and absolutely love it!)

Good night to all. Pictures are posted. Kids are asleep. Chad's still at city council. I must bed now.