Just a few shots of the homeboys kickin’ it…
Winters Kids
Just a little update about what in the world we're doing these days…
He’s My Brother
April 27th, 2011 by karliA Little Easter
April 24th, 2011 by karliSince our Easter Weekend was spent mostly focusing on a dance competition, we were a little more low-key about the whole thing than we have been in the past. We didn’t make it to our favorite egg hunts, but the Easter Bunny still did make an appearance at our house and was nice enough to come Sunday morning (which is typically reserved for the more spiritual side of Easter) instead of Saturday morning. Luckily, we have super late church (2-5pm this year!) so we had plenty of time for egg hunts. a special Swedish pancake breakfast by Grammie and lots of treats before heading to church services. Suffice it to say that most of the day was spent in our jammies, with chocolate covered teeth, examining the cool gifts the bunny brought.
White Stripes
April 23rd, 2011 by karliThis year has marked a big turning point in Mylie’s dance “career”. Not only did we switch studios, but she started on the competitive team. She’s only on the part-time team, which means fewer competitions, but she was the tiniest little thing on a team where the rest of the girls were ages 7-13. And I have to say, I’m pretty proud of her. I’m grateful to her coach for giving her the opportunity and working with her, and I’m proud of Mylie for keeping up and holding her own. Sure, she’s not on a scale with the older dancers, but she knows her job and she gets it done. And she’s darn cute while she’s doing it!
She’s also had to learn the hard lesson that will only become more common if she chooses to continue down this dance path. The challenge of time conflicts. This year one of the competitions was Easter Weekend – the same day as all the Easter Egg hunts! She was pretty upset about not getting to make it to any of her favorites, but it was a valuable lesson in prior commitments and being there for your team.
So for your enjoyment and ours… here is Mylie and the Element Part-Time Jazz Company in “White Stripes.”
Green Peas and Killer Eyes
April 14th, 2011 by karliKind of hard to believe, but Oliver (aka Babykins, Baby O, Buddy Bumpkin, Smiley Baby, Happy Dappy Doo, et al) is already 4 months and eating big boy foods! He got his first taste of green peas tonight, and well… it was, eh… fun. He was mostly just interested in sticking the bib in his mouth, and the peas seemed to get in the way of just chewing on the spoon. Sometimes I forget how much work feeding a baby is! But man, take a look at those eyes and feel yourself just melt. No?
The first tastes... interesting...
Yeah guys, ya know... I'm not really so sure about this... Maybe sweet potatoes next time?
Actually, it wasn't that bad! I could do that again... 
It’s Not Easy Being This Cool
April 5th, 2011 by karliBaby O was a tough customer when he arrived. Not the worst baby, but he was rather…eh… high maintenance. He couldn’t be set down. Ever. At all. We could sometimes get away with a swing or a bouncer. But in general it was in a grown-up’s arms or it was a meltdown. And I mean meltdown. The lungs on that kid could get the neighbor’s dogs going.
And then there was the sleeping… Once he got to sleep he would do a pretty darn good job of sleeping for long stretches. Crazy long sometimes. But the going to sleep was like nothing I’d ever experienced. I would nurse and rock and bounce and he just kept fidgeting and flailing and generally staying awake. Sometimes for up to five hours. And in the early morning feedings, he would sometimes do the same thing for hours at a time, not going back to sleep.
About eight weeks in, I discovered the super swaddle. Not any contraption… no, just the technique of straight-jacket swaddling him so that he was so tight he felt totally secure. We had tried swaddling from the beginning, but I ramped it up a bit and became super consistent. That seemed to do the trick. If he’s allowed to wave his hands around (which he will do at full tilt in all waking hours) he will not go to sleep. But if they’re extra secured, we do okay. And in the middle of the night, I figured out that I can’t lay down to nurse him. Nope, got to swaddle, and sit in the chair. If I do that, I can often be back in my cozy bed within about 20 minutes… which beat the heck out of lying in bed with an agitated baby for hours.
Once we figured each other out, life has started to get good. Oh, that and… he found his thumb!! I mean, seriously… the whole self-soothing ability has gone from non-existent to top-notch almost over night. We love thumb suckers in this house! So now, our little high-maintenance man has turned into kind of a cool kid. And when you throw in his killer grin, he just about knocks your socks off. See for yourself…
Goodby Justin Bieber
April 3rd, 2011 by karli
And HELLO NOLAN! Nice to have you back!
The Music Man
March 30th, 2011 by karliSince Nolan will not be allowed to play competitive sports as he grows up, we are trying to get him involved early with other outlets. Luckily, we’re both fairly musically oriented, and Nolan is also showing an early propensity for art. So, we think we’ve got it covered. Ask us again once little brother starts playing T-Ball and Nolan has to ask us why he can’t play. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
For now, we’re on a roll. We signed Nolan up for a little music class that a friend is teaching out of her house. It’s delightful, and she is doing all kinds of music appreciation with them. Today they had a little performance of the songs they learned. Unfortunately, we got there a little late and Nolan was a little out of sorts because of it (not to mention in desperate need of a haircut). By the end he warmed up, though, and had a good time. And he got a recorder to bring home (Oh joy!) which promptly broke upon us arriving home (Oh darn!).
