Am I dreaming? Nope!

Again, at 2 am, I think I hear Kamryn crying. I get up, walk out my bedroom towards her room, and yes, there she is STANDING in her doorway with her blanket and bedroom light on! Oh my, please no climbing out during the night! She was looking for her pacifier, which we refer to as Nuk-E (I so have to get rid of this last one before she turns three, I just cut another one this week) Then she tells me she wants to eat. Honestly, I don't think I've seen Kamryn eat so much as she has in the last few days. After that bug, she's turned into this bottomless pit. I suspect she's going through a growth spurt. I recently started recognizing this pattern of her waking during the night (to eat) when she's growing. So beware moms of littler ones! Try to notice if your little one does the same thing.

So it's 2 am, we're both sitting criss cross applesauce on her bedroom floor having a cereal pow wow. She's picking up one honey smack at a time and putting them in her mouth. I decide I'm hungry too so I pick up three at a time and start eating with her. Then she starts picking up a huge handful and shoving them in her mouth. Oh my, and she's learned this from me. (although I didn't pick up a whole handful but what difference does it make) At least we'll get through the bowl faster and can get back to bed.

Nope. Now she wants music on and wants us to dance. So instead of putting up a fight and risking her waking Brendan who is sleeping in the next room, we dance and she twirls under my arm.

There is no way I am getting her back in her crib without a fight. She seems wide awake. Since my bed is empty (Kevin's out of town) we head into my room. I know this is a bad thing to start, especially because I know what it's like to have a toddler come in your room every night once they move into a big boy bed. (named Matt) But I need sleep . . . I stayed up until midnight again and need to get up at 6:30 to get Matt off for a field trip . . . and then I am watching Gavin in the morning too. I really need my energy:)

She finally drifts off happy and we are snuggled together in my bed. She's still there . . . snoozing . . . dreaming . . . honey smack stuck to her bottom and all.

The bug . . .

hit our house, well at least Kamryn, poor girl. I went in her room Thanksgiving morning and she was laying next to her crib slats and just said, "look" and pointed to yucky stuff you spit out when you have the flu. She was so calm and just laying there! We have never seen Kamryn with this kind of bug in the almost two years she's been with us. She was fine all Thanksgiving day except before bed when it happened again. When I went to bed, I prayed that if she needed me during the night and didn't cry, God would wake me up or the angels would come get me (something I pray a lot especially with only one good hearing ear and asthmatic boys. Since I can't hear out of my left ear, I usually sleep on my right side and it's oh so quiet;)

Well I woke up at 2 am, was wide awake and went to check on her. As I was bending down by her crib, she got sick. How weird is that timing? God answers even the littlest prayers in the middle of the night. Again, she really didn't cry, so I put her in the tub for a quick cleaning. Sweet girl kept getting sick for the next hour and a half and at one point said bad girl. I quickly reassured her that she was not bad but that she was sick and couldn't help it.

I'm still so amazed at her calmness through it all and wonder if she ever got the flu type of sick that first eleven months without us. Did she get sick in her crib in the orphanage or while she was living in foster care? It's a question that quickly crossed my mind last night. If so, I hope she was tended to quickly and that someone loved on her.

I'm sure God keeps a watch on all the little babies waiting for their mommas just as He watches our little ones in their beds just down the hallway. I'm so thankful for that and so honored to be Kamryn's mom. I feel lucky that I am her mom and the one able to give her that TLC when she's not feeling well.

Thanksgiving . . .

We had a great Thanksgiving Day with my parents and Aunt. They came over, and I had a chance to "find" some kitchen stuff. It's like playing hide and seek when you move into a new home, put things away and then have to find them again when you go to use them for the first time. Heck, it's been 11 months since I've seen some of this kitchen stuff. Pretty sad I know to say that I don't cook big meals enough to find the electric knife or the gravy boat, the big roasting pans and the butter dish more easily. All in all, we found things relatively easily, and we enjoyed a nice meal.

Here are 10 things I'm most thankful for this year:

1.) That our family has been healthy this year.
2.) That my friends with cancer (in the past) are doing great now and staying healthy.
3.) That Matt and Brendan are doing great in school and getting more comfortable in their new surroundings. Still praying that Brendan makes that one special friend.
4.) That we are living closer to our family and Kamryn is getting to know her cousins and aunts and uncles better and spend more time with her grandparents. We have even be able to see her grandparents living in Florida a few times this year!
5.) That Kevin's sister is now happily married:)
6.) That we've been able to stay in touch with our "Carmel" friends as much as we have.
7.) That we are able to reconnect with our "old" friends living here while making such great new friends too.
8.) That we have found a church that we will likely call home.
9.) That we found a church preschool for Kamryn to attend.
10) That we are working on improving Kamryn's speech, and I have heard her say I love you for the first time this year.

We got elfed!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9544039150

Funny things Kamryn says

Her new phrases include "five more minutes" when I tell her it's bedtime.

She's got a cold, and I wonder out loud, "hmm, maybe I should take you to the doctor." She says, "No, I'm fine, I'm fine." with a little shake of her head and one of her hands. Or I'll tell her to put on her coat, and she'll say that same thing, I'm fine, I'm fine.

What is it with all of my children not wanting to wear their coats?! It's the middle of November and the boys will still insist on wearing only a sweatshirt or light jacket to school. They are crazy! Kamryn will get in the van and take OFF her coat! I will not be standing in the cold putting it back on her when we get to our destination.

Another of her favorite sayings when I'm talking to her is "oh ri-i-i-ght" and she drags out the right. She can be ham sometimes, surely has a sense of humor. She'll still walk out of the room with a purse to pretend to go shopping and now she says "right back." Tonight Kamryn was playing with a tea set when I told her it was time to get on her pj's and she said "one sec" and kept on playing.

This picture was taken a couple of nights ago. I guess she figured if she could hide in the toy drawer, she could get out of going to bed.

Trying to figure out these kid friendly chopsticks!

















Hey, I think I have the hang of it! Makes eating my noodles more fun!

We got a new van!

Well, okay, we got it over a month ago, but it's still new, and I still don't know how to use all the wonderful new "features" it has. Pretty sad I know, but who has time to sit in their parked vehicle in the driveway with the manual?! I need to make the time though seriously because I am not using the van to it's fullest extent!

I think I can download my IPOD to the van's hard drive and even download pictures to the screen because I see a picture prompt when I'm pressing buttons. It has a navigation system which I don't know how to use. It also has 2 tv screens, one for the second row and one for the third row and supposedly can be showing different things at the same time; either satellite tv (Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, or Nick) or a movie.

It's the 2008 Chrysler Town and Country. The one that is advertised as family room or bedroom . . . one could practically live in it. It's very cool for a mini-van. Pretty high tech and definitely more than we need. But hey, we usually hang onto our cars for a very long time and drive them to the almost 100,000 mile mark. Plus, dear friends of ours (Hi Debbie & Bill) graciously offered us their employee discount voucher, so why not. That doesn't happen every day!

It will make road trips easier with the three kids, and I'm loving that the boys can watch something different from Kamryn if we ever figure it out. They all have headphones too so I don't have to listen to what they are listening too. There are times when I tell them no media at all so we can talk, and I usually get disgruntled noises in my ear . . . at first.

As often as we are in the van trying to get through traffic around here, it really is our "second home" and we are loving it!

Weekend trip to Indy

A few weekends ago we went to Indiana to visit friends. We're so lucky we can stay at friends' houses when we go down there. This time we invaded Carol & Rob! (thanks guys!) That's actually the first time Kamryn climbed out of the pack and play and when we got home, she figured she could climb out of her big crib too.

We lived in Carmel for four years and never did we take advantage of going to the Children's Museum's Haunted House so we did that this trip. The boys LOVED it! Kamryn was afraid of the hanging witch outside the haunted house and even though they have friendly hours, she didn't go in.

We were so glad the weather was pretty good that weekend so we were able to go to the park a couple times and meet friends there. It was a fun trip but like always, the weekends go too fast!

Kamryn sitting with our "pretend" doggy, Shadow.

Since the boys are both allergic to cats and dogs, this is the next best dog to have! It doesn't bark, it doesn't bite, it doesn't need food or need to go out in this cold weather!

She finally did it . . .

ugh . . . Kamryn climbed out of her crib!

(and will climb into any open spaces!)

The boys never did that. Figures, she would figure it out just like any monkey would;) She did it pretty gracefully I may add. I didn't hear a big thump at all. In fact she kinda shocked me because I was going to the laundry room (which is upstairs closest to her bedroom) and out she ran from Brendan's bedroom and cut me off! They share a jack-and-jill bathroom and the little stinker ran through the bathroom into Brendan's room instead of coming out her bedroom door. She showed us how she climbed out, and now life as I know it is now over. She hasn't been napping much anyway because if she does, she's up until 10 pm. Lately she's been falling asleep around 6:30 or 7 pm just for 45 minutes or so which is not good because then she up until midnight! This sweet little girl has so much energy! I've told her not to climb out again because if she gets hurt, we'll have to go back to the doctor for stitches. So far that's been working.

My friend Heather witnessed her energy when she babysat her one night (thanks Heather!) while Kevin & I went to my cousin's stepdaughter's Quinceanera. Heather said Kamryn was a good match for her son Josh but Hannah and Kaitlyn were tired and fell asleep at their normal bedtime. The Quinceanera was fun and quite an experience since we've never been to one before. It's nice to learn about other customs. Melanie, the 15 yr old, looked beautiful and the dances they performed were fun to watch.

Isn't Brendan sweet?

Last Friday Brendan came home from school with this stuffed Toucan. His teacher rewards the students with "dollars" for good things done in class and they all have a "checkbook" in which they record these dollars in. Friday they were able to buy something with their dollars and this is what Brendan bought FOR KAMRYN. He said he picked it out for her instead of buying a HOMEWORK PASS for himself. Wow! That was so thoughtful of him especially because it is like pulling teeth to get him to do his homework! Isn't he sweet? He has such a big heart and always thinks of others before himself. What a special boy!

(p.s. Kamryn has a cold, so excuse her runny nose and the mess on the floor behind them!)

16 Years Ago it was snowing . . .

and it was our wedding day! Who would have thought that it would snow on November 2nd? Since I love outdoor pictures, I still don't know why we chose a fall wedding. Probably because back then planning a wedding quickly was out of the question. We had 11 months to plan. It was a beautiful day, and all that planning paid off. Who would have guessed that night that in our future as husband and wife we would be blessed with 2 wonderful boys and travel half way across the world for our daughter? Or that we would live in five houses together, move out of state and move back? Marriage is an adventure! So happy to be sharing it with my best friend.

My Precious Panda and Scary Boys

The boys totally rejected any "funny" Halloween costume ideas and opted for scary again this year. Matt actually tried on a banana costume in the store but was so embarrassed by it that he was actually blushing until he got it off. Brendan's school had a Halloween parade and to tell you the truth, I've kinda missed them. In Indiana, the school's didn't do Halloween parades and the kids weren't allowed at all to wear their costumes to school. They did "fall parties" instead. So Kamryn and I braved the wind and somewhat cold weather to wait for Brendan's class (the last one) to come by in their costumes.

I've had Kamryn's costume for weeks since I ordered it on the internet. It is adorable, so soft and cuddly and of course very girly. She has not been interested in it at all so I was pleasantly surprised that she even put it on. (The costume included a pink tutu that she wouldn't put on, but that's okay.) Once Kamryn went around to a few houses and got candy, something clicked in her head. She wanted to continue trick or treating! It was cute to hear her say trick or treat and then thank you after getting candy. I went to a few houses with her, but since I am a wimp in the cold, we headed back home fairly early. My parents, aunt, and sister and her kids came over so I cooked up the adults a yummy treat . . . homemade chili with lots of vegetables that really could win a chili cook-off! (I can say that because it is so good, and I got the recipe online:) It was a fun day!