January 2012

I know I have much to catch up from last year, but I don't want the more recent stuff to get pushed back.  Therefore you can expect my blog to be jumping around a little bit in time with my new posts.  I figure after I get all caught up I will then go back and organize my entries date-wise.

The more kids you have the quicker the time just flies.  January is usually a pretty long month, but this year it went by SO quick.  We had little (Very Little ) snow this year and yet we still managed to get Talia on the sled for her first time.  We also had a REALLY nasty flu bug hit our entire family.  At the end of January Ky began swimming lessons, Alaina began ballet, and I began my piano lessons.  This of course only made our schedules more busy--but at the same time ALL the more fun!

I have to say that the weather this January has never been warmer.  In fact it was pretty depressing warm.  If it is going to be 'cold' (20+ degrees) I want snow!  We got one snowfall and it was short lived before it melted.  In fact we took the kids sledding (they got sleds for Christmas) and by the time we arrived, most of the snow on the hill had melted.  So instead our sledding trip was more of a mudding trip.  On the bright side, it wasn't overly crowded (I guess mudding isn't very popular) and the sleds didn't go too fast down the hill--which always concerns me with the younger ones.  Either way the kiddos have a great time.  Even Talia liked going down the hill.  You could tell by the way she kicked her feet when you got her off that she was ready to go again.

Our "mudding" trip was a part of our fun MLK weekend.  We had initially discussed going North to Pop's & Debi's cottage, but changed our mind at the last minute.  We figured that if we weren't going to get sleep at night (the kids had been having bad sleeping nights), we would prefer to "not" sleep in our own beds.

On our fun-filled weekend, we ended up taking the kids bowling--which Kylan loved!  (Did I mention, he beat both Rob and I?)  Alaina likes to bowl as well--however after 8 frames you can tell she is about done.  We also took the kids to Stories & Sweets story time at the library (hey free donuts while the librarian entertains your kids---sounds good to me!) and we took them to the Madison Children's Museum. 

So I mentioned not sleeping.  It seems like ever since Ky has started school, he has brought home almost every illness imaginable.  Alaina and Talia were both fighting colds and it was a constant battle for them to sleep more than a few hours at a time.   Alaina wakes up with these constant coughing fits--and it is so hard to console her. In fact, things got so bad that we literally would take her downstairs and tell her when she was done crying she could come to bed.  (She would literally be having a tantrum--and we would try to coddle her or tuck her back in bed, but nothing worked--and since she is currently sleeping in Ky's bedroom, it wasn't fair to keep him up--he has school the next day.  AND she would wake up Talia.  UGH!)  We have tried, literally, everything for her.  Elevating her head, VaporRubbed her from head to toe, humidifier, honey....we give up.  Finally the doctor put her on antibiotics and told us to use her nebulizer at night.  We now use her nebulizer EVERY night--which yeah I really should make a doc appointment soon for.  I have no idea why she has these coughing issues at night, but the nebulizer gets her through the night and so we continue to use it. 

Talia--which I still believe is our best sleeper--has just had one issue after another with colds and such.  With her being our youngest and such, we usually just end up bringing her in bed with us when she wakes up in the night.  She will usually go right back to sleep.  And I have to say her excitement of seeing both Rob and I on either side of her is really endearing.

I mentioned everyone had a flu bug. It hit Kylan on a Friday first.  He puked a few times and I kept him home from school.  By mid day he was fine.  Alaina caught it a few days later and only puked twice.  In fact she did such a great job (for puking).  The first time she did it in bed.  After we cleaned her up we put a trashcan next to her bed and told her that if she got sick again she could just puke in it.  Well, Rob and I went back to bed and in the morning we found that she had in fact vomited in the trash can.  We never heard her.  She must have puked and went right back to sleep!  A few days later we were pretty sure Talia had it.  She was crabby and had a few big spit ups but then was fine.  Friday night, I started to feel a little weird.  I skipped dinner and decided to lay down for a bit and then it hit.  Let me tell you--I have never been so sick!  I thought I had food poisoning.  I was in the bathroom so much, I was getting light headed because I had nothing left and was so dehydrated.  Rob called the doc and they confirmed that I had the Norovirus and I had been hit hard.  They mentioned that kids get light cases and adults tend to get hit hard.  It was four hours of non-stop puking and then after that my body hurt SO MUCH!  It was several days before I ate again--and sure enough after that Alaina got sick again (while I was recovering) and then Rob  got sick.  Thankfully I was well enough to take care of him.  The major issue was feeding the kids when I didn't think I could even handle looking a food.  My good friend Ann really surprised me though--she dropped off an assortment of sandwiches, soups, and sides that helped get us through.  Thanks Ann!  You Rock!  So that was our big flu bug.  Yeah--I hope we don't go through that again.  Oh yeah--did I mention we also got Rob's mom and her partner sick.  Terrible bug!

Kiddo Milestones--

Ky received his first report card.  I believe he did well.  It is really confusing with all the numbers instead of grades--and then also since his curriculum is all in Spanish it would be hard to expect him to get 4 (exceeding beyond grade level) for the material.  He had mostly 3's which said he was at or above expected kindergartner knowledge.  At home I continue to work with him.  I estimate that he is at a 3rd grade reading level (in English of course) and does Math of a 1st grade level.  He is now able to add double digit numbers (though I have not taught him how to carry the one, so he can't do those kinds of problems.)  He can easily differentiate between addition and subtraction and did his first set of story problems successfully the other day.  He also can now count by 5's and I hope to work with him on counting by 2's soon.  School has really enlightened him in many ways.  Many good--and some not so good.  In January we got a call from his music teacher that he was taking on a "class clown" personality.  We really talked to him and his other teachers about this.  It turns out that he was following the behavior of a couple of other kids.  We have since nipped this in the bud and he has returned to good behavior.  We now talk about the other kids behavior and discuss good vs. bad choices.  I also now say a daily prayer with him before he goes to school.  We pray that he will be a blessing to others and be a Christ follower showing others the light of Christ through his actions.  We pray that he will make good choices that honor God and that he will have a wonderful day.  I do think that in the next month we will begin praying for the 2 classmates that are having difficulties in class.  From what Ky has been telling me--their behavior is only getting worse.  I am so proud of my boy for making good choices and now seeing the importance of that and talking to me about it.  He has grown up SO much this school year.  I knew this would happen since he wouldn't be under my "protective" covering any more.  It also helps me to realize that there are some conversations I need to have with my kids before they go to school.

Alaina--

I love this girl.  Seriously, ask her to tell you about her day and you will get this ELABORATE make-believe story that doesn't end.  She LOVES to talk.  And ask questions (and what 3 year old doesn't?)  I have to be honest that I haven't had the best patience with her lately.  Her imagination exceeds anything that mine EVER was.  It takes her forever to do ANYTHING--and that is because her imagination brings EVERYTHING to life and a story is told.  Something as simple as washing her hands can take 10-20 minutes if I don't intervene.  And this is tiring for me--to have to be on her every second just so we can get somewhere or so she can get something done.  This is especially difficult when I am trying to drop off Ky or pick him up from school.  I already have to get myself and Talia ready--but to be on top of Alaina for every step just gets exhausting.

Since Grandpa died, Alaina now also tells everyone that someone from her family died--it may be a Grandma or Aunt.  She gets some sympathetic looks--and I have to clear it up--and yes, several times she has told people that her mom died and I was standing next to her.

Alaina writes her name!  I am so proud of her.  We have been working hard and she does it BEAUTIFULLY!  This time I did not make the mistake of teaching her to write with all capital letters! YEAH!

And finally Alaina has begun her ballet class--she has been SOOOOOO excited about this!  This girl already prances around the living room--add a tutu and tights and we have one happy girl.  This is also her first BIG GIRL class ALL BY HERSELF.  I get to observe every 4 weeks and she does have a recital at the end of April.  She is so cute.

Talia
Talia is crawling forward--and FAST!  She is also pulling up to standing and cruises.  She claps her hand and waves "hi".  She can say "Hi, Dada, BopBop (that's mama), and Kylan."  I don't think she has Alaina down yet--but I am sure that will come.  She LOVES Kylan--her face lights up when she sees him.  She also loves Alaina--though Alaina can be rough and not very gentle (another issue we have--she will pick Talia up and move her--sometimes by the head!  I have also caught her dragging her or yanking on her arms.  I know Alaina LOVES Talia and really wants to treat her like her baby dolls--but she just doesn't understand being gentle.  This can get VERY frustrating!) 

Talia is a VERY happy baby.  She giggles and laughs and LOVES to be held.  She has gotten A LOT of colds from the kiddos :(  And her tear ducts get blocked easily from this.  Despite all that she is very even tempered.

When I go to work out and pick her up afterwards she will be happily playing on the floor, until she sees me.  Then she will begin crying and crawl to me.  I tell her that I am flattered by the tears and let her know that it is okay to have a good time without me (afterall I saw that she was fine without me! :) )

So there is January in a nutshell.

Wrap up of the past year

So, while I have really fallen behind on my blogging--I actually have still been recording tid bits of dfferent funny stories with the kids.  Here are some of those funny stories as well as some milestones. (As well as pics from Talia at 2 weeks old)

June--
Ky continues to amaze us with his vocabulary.  Rob was comparing Scott Walker to a weasel (I know--not the most mature comment, but we were venting some anger.)  Anyway, Ky overheard us and said "Isn't that redundant?"  Very funny--not mature and totally the wrong thing to teach our child--but still INCREDIBLE use of vocabulary.

Kylan has really been getting into baseball this year.  At one game the umpire made a bad call and the audience booed.  Nana explained to him that the crowd was not happy with his call.  Ky then said "So when people are unhappy they act like ghosts?"

Ky wanted to put "poems" in his CD player.  It took me FOREVER to figure out what he wanted.  Turns out he wanted to plug headphones in!

Ky's reading skills continue to improve.  Driving past restuarants in our area, Ky says "When are we going to go to WHOOOOOO -ters?"  (Hooters)  It was so funny how he pronounced it.
Alaina is ALWAYS singing.  ALWAYS.  And she makes up the most crazy and OBNOXIOUS songs.  It is hilarious.  If I haven't already uploaded video, I will soon!

Dancing is her other thing.  She loves to dance like a princess.  She isn't very graceful but is ADORABLE to watch!

Talia loves kisses.  This girl is a kissing fiend.  If she isn't receiving them she is giving them.  It is SO cute.  You can see her face just light up when she is getting kissed.

Alaina response for "yes"  or uh-huh is "huh-huh".  You really have to hear this to find it amusing. 

Talia first laughed when she was in the bathtub at 10 weeks at Alaina.  Yeah!  Baby giggles!

At 5 months, we began to notice when Talia was feeling left out.  One day, I was chasing Ky & Alaina around the living room and Rob was standing there holding her.  She then began to cry.  Rob figured out that she wanted to participate so began running with her around the room and she became VERY happy.  Since then, we have noticed that if she doesn't feel involved she will cry.  This includes when her brother and sister leave the room and are playing elsewhere. 

Talia was slow to sit up on her own.  (Probably because of all the holding we did--and the fact that my boppy was in such poor shape I tossed it.)  By 6 months she was finally able to sit up well enough without support.
At 7 months Talia crawls backwards REALLY well.  She has yet to figure out how to move forward though.

Alaina is such a girly girl.  She loves her princess and she insists that all stories should end "And they lived happily ever after" with the prince and princess getting married of course.  A few weeks before Christmas we went to storytime at the library and the them was "princes & princesses".  Let me tell you--Alaina was OVERJOYED!  until we got to the story The Paper Bag Princess.  Let's just say the princess is too smart to marry the prince and walks off in her paper bag dress.  Well--Alaina was not having any of that.  She insisted to the librarian that "the prince and princess DID get married and they lived happily ever after AND the princess got back her beautiful dress."  I was thankful that the librarian complied and let Alaina have her fantasy ending, otherwise it would have been a rough day for her. 

On Christmas Eve Talia made some movement forward.  Since then we have noticed periodic forward movements.  Soon she will be on the move!
 
Continuing with Ky and his reading skills...This Christmas we have a piano and some Christmas Song Books.  Ky bangs on the piano and sings along.  His pronunciations are HILARIOUS.  "HO HO the Whistletoe" and "Have a HOLY JOELY Christmas" (instead of Holly Jolly) and of course in Silent Night he sings about the "Round 'yon VIRGIN"  pronouncing the "guh" for the g.

A few days after Christmas Alaina was telling me how her prince came to see her.  I said "Really!  Did he bring you anything?"  She said, "Yes, My prince brought me flowers and a treat for not pooping in my tights!"

When Kylan was 4 and very upset with us, he used to tell us "You're breaking my heart!"  When he used this tactic with tears, it was very moving!  (i.e. "Kylan you already had a piece of cake, you don't need anymore."  sniffle, sniffle, "You're breaking my heart!"

Grandpa Edward Herbst, January 23, 1920 - December 17, 2011

Grandpa getting a hug from little Kylan

Grandpa & Grandma walking with Kylan

Family photo with Grandpa (pre-Talia)

Grandpa meeting Talia for the first time

Grandpa Herbst passed away on December 17th shortly after being hospitalized with an infection.  He will be missed by all of us.

The romantic in me thinks Grandpa passed away because he sensed his wife and the fact that she has passed almost exactly 3 years ago.  Grandma's favorite time was also Christmas, and what more appropriate time to be reunited with your wife than her favorite time of year. 

The last several years have been hard ones.  Grandpa Herbst had been suffering from dementia and placed in a home to be taken care of.  He rarely knew who we were when we visited.  Often times he would be stuck in the 1940's or 1950's and so we would get a glimpse of Grandpa as a young man.  And that young man was sure a happy & loving with a good sense of humor.  (One of the last times we visited he kept goofing around with Kylan and calling him "Charlie".  It was pretty funny!)
He will be best remember for the many stories he loved to tell.  One of the all time favorites is when he met Babe Ruth while sitting in a bar.  He had been serving during World War II and was in New York waiting for some friends.  Babe Ruth came in and sat down next to him and chatted with him and bought him a drink.  By the time Grandpa's friends had arrived Babe had left--and of course none of his friends believed him. 

As far as romantic, Grandpa would also tell us how when he first brought his girlfriend home (future wife Audrey) his Grandmother told him in German that this girl was the one.--And of course she was right!

He also told us about his first house in Theinsville and how the bathtub and toilet were so close together that if you sat on the toilet, your feet would be in the bathtub. 

Grandpa & Grandma had much pride and stories in their houses.  They loved their home in Arlington Heights which they moved to in the late 1950's.  The movers brought their stuff from their spacious home in Thiensville to the home in Arlington Heights--and said to them, "How can you move from that spacious place in Thiensville to this tiny home in Arlington Heights."  Grandpa & Grandma took much pride in their new house adding a mud room and a special air system that you will not find in other homes.  Grandma had tastefully decorated each room and took pride in her work--for example she had done needlepoint work on each of her dining room chairs.  They were beautiful!

While it is sad to see Grandpa go, it also makes me happy to know that he can be reunited with his wife.  I know he missed her.  She was his best friend.  Grandpa--you will be missed, but I know we will see you again some day--and you can tell us your many wonderful stories again.  We love you!