Ava is 1 Month!

Ava turned a month old yesterday! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. Seems like yesterday we were headed into the hospital. I am going to try and post a picture of Ava each month and a little video clip to go with it so we can look back and see how much she has changed. (the video clip for this month is not too exciting but cute none the less). In the video pretty much all I caught was her being bright eyed and a cute little sneeze. Had some trouble uploading my video clip, I will try and post it later!

For the first couple weeks, everyone commented about how calm she was....well, she is much feistier now and will make sure she lets you know she is not satisfied! She is really good at sticking out that pouty lower lip already. I was hoping for a "go with the flow" child this time. But, I guess I am destined for stubborn, strong willed children! She wakes up once, (well twice actually because I don't consider 6:00 morning yet) so I can't complain in that department although getting her to actually GO to sleep in an accomplishment in itself. She prefers, or should I say, demands you to STAND and bounce her to sleep.I think I am going to invest in some quality literature about getting children to go to sleep. It took me 3 years to get Kale to go to bed by himself without a struggle!

Kale has been so sweet with Ava and makes sure he gives her a hug (which can sometimes be a little too aggressive) and a kiss on the cheek before he goes to school. And sometimes he just runs over to her and says "aww, tiny Ava." Sunday morning while I was attempting to get showered and dressed, Ava started to fuss around. I went over to her and Kale quickly ran over and said, "Mom, go take a break. I'll take care of her." I thought it was very cute but was concerned about what his interpretation of "taking care" was..so I didn't take my break. :)

And of course, here is a picture of Kale....

Spring has Sprung!! Just in time to snow again :(

We are loving the weather.  Kale has been tuckered out at bedtime (which makes the battle a lot easier for me to win) since we have been able to get outside and play, play, play.  All the neighbor kids have been out which hasn't happened since last fall.  It is fun to see how much they have grown and actually interact with each other now..appropriately--- most of the time! :)  We love our neighbor friends!  Ava even got to come out for a bit!  I think she liked it!

It's supposed to snow again this weekend but hopefully it will come and go quickly so we can get on with the sunshine.....
Here's to Spring Dude!

Look Alikes..

We have been capturing pictures of Ava that remind of so much of when Kale was a baby.  I took this picture of Ava today with a goofy facial expression... and thought to myself, "I've seen this before!"

This is Ava and below is Kale.. I think he was a few weeks older than what Ava is now.

I'm Back

All right, so, after a long time of no blogging...I'm back! I have been following some other blogs and realizing how many funny things I could be documenting that happen that I never seem to get written anywhere. I have always said I was going to start a notebook of all the hilarious things Kale has said and I never do... I will attempt it here. We'll see how it goes.



We have a new addition! Ava Grace was born February 22nd. A big girl 9lbs 9oz and 21 inches long. Of course, she is perfect and Kale says we can keep her.



Ava hadn't gained much weight back (after getting down to 8.14 when we left the hospital) so we went in again today for another weight check. I had been getting a little frazzled with the little weight gain since Kale porked on the pounds with no effort when he was a baby and for god's sake the dairy has been open 24/7 since she was born.... But good news, she is up to 10.5! Hopefully she keeps putting it on and then has her daddy's metabolism come the teenage years :). We can't keep her snot nosed brother away from her... he loves her so much and smothers her with kisses. We are just praying the first cold doesn't hit for at least a month. By that time we are hoping that the 4 month long cold Kale has had subsides. Luckily, there are signs of spring!!



Kale has adjusted like a champ. No real issues. All except for the strange behavior of becoming very possessive of EVERYTHING not just Ava, but literally EVERYTHING that is in our house including the garbage..yes, you read that right, the garbage. He LOVES the garbage man but has recently decided that it is not okay for him to take our "big pile of garbage" only the neighbors. He has shed tears over our garbage being placed on the curb.. I have read nothing of this sort in how to raise your child and wondering what I have done wrong..LOL seriously kid! He also has become paranoid of strangers gawking over Ava for fear they are going to take her home when she is "our baby". I guess we could have the opposite problem and he could be asking for them to take her. We are also looking forward to the snow boots being retired. It has been a long winter and Kale has worn those darn boots everywhere for the past 4 months. My parents had to tell him a little fib and said that boots weren't allowed in the hospital when he came to meet his sister for the first time. My nephew Jake gets most of Kale's hand me downs but I don't think the snow boots will survive to be handed down. The sad thing is he has FAR more pairs of shoes than I do and all he ever wears are those boots..

They really did WANT to be in here.

This battle wound is the result of Kale being curious about his stocking hanging from our mantle. It had probably been up for a matter of seconds before this injury happened. Note to self and all parents of children shorter than the mantle: DO NOT USE METAL STOCKING HOLDERS... so sorry buddy! You were such a trooper though... five stitches later....

2009!

Well, what have we done since we last wrote. Thanksgiving and Christmas were spent back in Northwest Iowa with both our families. Joe missed Thanksgiving completely and came the day after Christmas to celebrate after work. He made sure that I knew he had a lunchable from Kum & Go while I was enjoying a big feast with the Goekens. I really am sorry 'bout that but my food was great. He reminds me most everyday not to complain about working when I have weekends off, holiday breaks, spring break and summer break! ...not to mention snow days :)
Joe is loving his job despite the not so great schedule. He manages to entertain us all at gatherings of the randomness of his job and the people he comes in contact with most of which include at least one story of his friends at the county home (he seems to have AT LEAST one call there a night, seriously) All walks of life that's for sure. I am enjoying teaching.... and there again between kids and parents...all walks of life. I have some pretty good kids in my class all though my cell phone did manage to grow feet and walk away from my classroom. I am known for losing things or unconsciously placing things in strange places but seriously I think I would have stumbled across it by now. I think one of my second grade "friends" "borrowed" it.... not so happy about it. I will be done with my Master's in July..... I will admit I haven't really enjoyed being a student again but it will be worth it when I am done!
Kale surprises us everyday. Over Christmas he counted to ten shocking us all and then daycare asked if he had ever counted for us in Spanish!!!!!!!!!! WHAT?!?!??! Sure enough, he can count in Spanish! What else is up in that little mind that we don't know he knows. Amazing! His vocabulary is EXPLODING and we are having to be VERY careful about what is said around him because a) he WILL remember, even if you think he isn't listening b) He WILL repeat, even if you think he isn't listening c) he WILL tell someone what has been said when it is least expected or appreciated for that matter. He has repeated "damn dog" in conversation with no one other than himself, randomly told visitors that "daddy go poopy" and has said "what a psycho" to his mother (not in correct context thankfully)! He is a stubborn one-- obviously gets that from his daddy--:) some may disagree but I find myself to be a rather go with the flow person. I have no idea where anyone would get the notion that I am stubborn...anyway..the terrible twos are in full swing. He can make us sweat, pull our hair out (well, my hair out since Joe has none to pull), roll on the ground laughing, and make us so proud all within a matter of seconds. I will say..... how in the h-e- double hockey sticks does anyone have multiples, or children less than two years apart. More of a woman than I, that's all I have to say. Phew! It's a busy job that's for sure!