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Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
First Family Day Trip
Aaron has been gone a lot with work lately. We have missed him SO much! It has been so amazing to be a family this weekend for the first time in a while. Yesterday, we went on our first family outing to Northwest Arkansas as a family of Four. When Korben was a baby, we have memories of taking him up there for the day. Most memories are good, some memories are bad, but we laugh about them all now!
We woke up early yesterday (I had to WAKE up Klaire at 7:30 after sleeping ALL night-read previous post!), and headed to Fayetteville. We got there by 9:30 and did a little shopping at Old Navy, and then bought a wedding gift at Bed Bath and Beyond. Then we headed to Dillards to get Korben some shoes for Easter. We found the cutest little Sperry's that would look good with his dress pants for Easter but would also look cute with shorts all summer. After purchasing them and getting to the car, I started to change Klaire's diaper in the front seat, and Aaron put Korben and the stroller in the car. One of us (we honestly don't remember who...doesn't matter) put the Dillards sack on the ground and never put it in the car. This didn't dawn on us until 10:00 last night when we were unloading the car. We bough thought the other person put it in the car. That was the most sickening feeling to know that we just threw money down the drain! I really hoped that the mall security or Dillards would have it, but they didn't. I'm sure someone already returned them and used their store credit! Ughh, so sickening!
Other than that, we had a FANTASTIC day yesterday. After doing some shopping that morning, we went to eat at Kosmos greek cafe. It was so delicious! Korben couldn't wait to go to the restaurant (he thinks restaurants are so cool!), and was just pumped about our "day trip" in general!
Then I had a hair appointment. I had been greatly anticipating this because I was in despereate need of a change. I got a few inches off and some hilights and I feel so great. My hair is so bouncy and easy to fix right now. Definitely important to a busy mom of 2! Even though my hair appointment took almost 2 hours, it worked out great because it was nap time for the kids. Aaron just drove around and let the kiddos sleep in the car. He actually even drove to find the Duggar's house in Tonitown! Ha! When he came back to pick me up, we took Korben for a surprise at Bliss...a CUTE store of wonderful cupcakes! Korben's favorite things in the world! Fun, fun times!
We decided to head up to the Promenade in Rogers. It was a gorgeous and warm day and we knew it would be a great day to shop up there since it wasn't a Saturday. We let Korben play on their playground, and Klaire was just as thrilled as she could be doing everything with us! Aaron and I split up a few times, each taking a kid, and I really liked it! This one-on-one ratio is totally working for us! I don't know how parents do it with 3+ kids! I'm not even going to think about that yet, and just enjoy our one-on-one time for now!
We really had a phenomenal day, but it wasn't over! It was Parent's Night Out at our church, so we drove back and dropped our kids off at 6:45, just in time for the 7:15 showing of "Limitless." VERY interesting movie. We liked it a LOT! Then we picked up our babies from church. Korben had a great time (and GREAT report from his teachers, which always makes me happy) and Klaire was more than ready to see her bed! Korben slept until 7:30 this morning and Klaire slept until 8:30!
Our first family outing as 4 was a SUCCESS, and so good for this stay at home mommy's soul. (A stay at home mommy whose husband has been gone and has had a crying baby who has just happened to have recently gotten over a week's bout of rsv....Ha! Okay, to say I was grateful to get out for the day (and night with my husband) would be an understatement!
We woke up early yesterday (I had to WAKE up Klaire at 7:30 after sleeping ALL night-read previous post!), and headed to Fayetteville. We got there by 9:30 and did a little shopping at Old Navy, and then bought a wedding gift at Bed Bath and Beyond. Then we headed to Dillards to get Korben some shoes for Easter. We found the cutest little Sperry's that would look good with his dress pants for Easter but would also look cute with shorts all summer. After purchasing them and getting to the car, I started to change Klaire's diaper in the front seat, and Aaron put Korben and the stroller in the car. One of us (we honestly don't remember who...doesn't matter) put the Dillards sack on the ground and never put it in the car. This didn't dawn on us until 10:00 last night when we were unloading the car. We bough thought the other person put it in the car. That was the most sickening feeling to know that we just threw money down the drain! I really hoped that the mall security or Dillards would have it, but they didn't. I'm sure someone already returned them and used their store credit! Ughh, so sickening!
Other than that, we had a FANTASTIC day yesterday. After doing some shopping that morning, we went to eat at Kosmos greek cafe. It was so delicious! Korben couldn't wait to go to the restaurant (he thinks restaurants are so cool!), and was just pumped about our "day trip" in general!
Then I had a hair appointment. I had been greatly anticipating this because I was in despereate need of a change. I got a few inches off and some hilights and I feel so great. My hair is so bouncy and easy to fix right now. Definitely important to a busy mom of 2! Even though my hair appointment took almost 2 hours, it worked out great because it was nap time for the kids. Aaron just drove around and let the kiddos sleep in the car. He actually even drove to find the Duggar's house in Tonitown! Ha! When he came back to pick me up, we took Korben for a surprise at Bliss...a CUTE store of wonderful cupcakes! Korben's favorite things in the world! Fun, fun times!
We decided to head up to the Promenade in Rogers. It was a gorgeous and warm day and we knew it would be a great day to shop up there since it wasn't a Saturday. We let Korben play on their playground, and Klaire was just as thrilled as she could be doing everything with us! Aaron and I split up a few times, each taking a kid, and I really liked it! This one-on-one ratio is totally working for us! I don't know how parents do it with 3+ kids! I'm not even going to think about that yet, and just enjoy our one-on-one time for now!
We really had a phenomenal day, but it wasn't over! It was Parent's Night Out at our church, so we drove back and dropped our kids off at 6:45, just in time for the 7:15 showing of "Limitless." VERY interesting movie. We liked it a LOT! Then we picked up our babies from church. Korben had a great time (and GREAT report from his teachers, which always makes me happy) and Klaire was more than ready to see her bed! Korben slept until 7:30 this morning and Klaire slept until 8:30!
Our first family outing as 4 was a SUCCESS, and so good for this stay at home mommy's soul. (A stay at home mommy whose husband has been gone and has had a crying baby who has just happened to have recently gotten over a week's bout of rsv....Ha! Okay, to say I was grateful to get out for the day (and night with my husband) would be an understatement!
SLEEPING BEAUTY!
This has been a HUGE, MONUMENTAL, and FANTASTIC week at our house! Overnight, Klaire went from being a "Colicky" baby who cried and cried before every nap and especially before bed time...to the PERFECT baby who goes down for naps in her bed without a peep, happy as she can be while she is awake, and willingly ready to go down for an ENTIRE NIGHT'S sleep. Do you see the contrast here? I've made no bones about these last three months being very tough, and then all of a sudden, its like a switch was flipped and she is a new baby.
Let me give you a play by play of my week.
Monday morning: Scheduled an appt. for that day with our doctor because I was so worried about letting her "cry it out" any longer in her bed. She was crying so much that I was convinced she had an ear infection. Doctor examined her and confirmed that she was probably just spoiled from being held so much the previous week when she was sick. He encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing and not worry about letting her cry in her bed if I knew all her needs were met and she was tired.
Tuesday: Posted as my facebook status "Dear Klaire, I know you really liked all the extra snuggling you got last week while you were sick, but you are all well now and you are going to have to sleep in your bed again. I wish I could hold you 24 hours a day, but it is just not possible. Please don't cry about it. It makes me cry too. I love you, Mom
Wednesday: She actually went down for naps in her bed without thinking the world was coming to an end! I still had to put her in the swing to get her to go to sleep that night because she was so fussy, but after her middle of the night feeding, she peacefully went back to sleep in her own bed for the rest of the night.
Thursday: Wakes up the happiest baby I've ever seen in my life. Cooing up a storm. Goes down for THREE naps that day without shedding a single tear. Put her down to bed at 6:30 p.m., she goes down without a peep. I'm pretty much thinking this was the greatest miracle ever, until she started crying at 7:30. Turns out she just needed to burp and went RIGHT back to sleep. THEN....THEN....THEN....I didn't hear a PEEP from her until 7:30 the next morning when I WOKE her up.
Friday (yesterday): First family "Day Trip." She was the Perfect BABY. Napped at all the right times, even though we were out and about. She was happy the entire day. As soon as we got home last night she went straight to bed and slept until 8:30 this morning.
THANK. YOU. JESUS.
You know, maybe it is worth having "hard" babies at the beginning because it sure makes it mean more when they get easier! She seems SO EASY right now! Who knows how long it will stay this way, and it could all change tonight...but I have to give credit where credit is due.
Interesting theory. No doubt that Klaire and Korben were "colicky babies" in every sense of the word. A lot of doctors talk about the 3 month colic. I was really discouraged 2 weeks ago when we passed Klaire's 3 month birthday and she was still having such a hard time most nights. Colic is supposed to peak at 2 months and resolve itself mostly by 3 months. Well, Klaire's resolved at 3 months and 2 weeks. Theory is...Klaire was born two weeks early. Could it have taken Klaire 2 extra weeks for the "3 month colic" to resolve itself since she was 2 weeks early? Something to ponder...Ha!
Sincerely,
A grateful mommy
Let me give you a play by play of my week.
Monday morning: Scheduled an appt. for that day with our doctor because I was so worried about letting her "cry it out" any longer in her bed. She was crying so much that I was convinced she had an ear infection. Doctor examined her and confirmed that she was probably just spoiled from being held so much the previous week when she was sick. He encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing and not worry about letting her cry in her bed if I knew all her needs were met and she was tired.
Tuesday: Posted as my facebook status "Dear Klaire, I know you really liked all the extra snuggling you got last week while you were sick, but you are all well now and you are going to have to sleep in your bed again. I wish I could hold you 24 hours a day, but it is just not possible. Please don't cry about it. It makes me cry too. I love you, Mom
Wednesday: She actually went down for naps in her bed without thinking the world was coming to an end! I still had to put her in the swing to get her to go to sleep that night because she was so fussy, but after her middle of the night feeding, she peacefully went back to sleep in her own bed for the rest of the night.
Thursday: Wakes up the happiest baby I've ever seen in my life. Cooing up a storm. Goes down for THREE naps that day without shedding a single tear. Put her down to bed at 6:30 p.m., she goes down without a peep. I'm pretty much thinking this was the greatest miracle ever, until she started crying at 7:30. Turns out she just needed to burp and went RIGHT back to sleep. THEN....THEN....THEN....I didn't hear a PEEP from her until 7:30 the next morning when I WOKE her up.
Friday (yesterday): First family "Day Trip." She was the Perfect BABY. Napped at all the right times, even though we were out and about. She was happy the entire day. As soon as we got home last night she went straight to bed and slept until 8:30 this morning.
THANK. YOU. JESUS.
You know, maybe it is worth having "hard" babies at the beginning because it sure makes it mean more when they get easier! She seems SO EASY right now! Who knows how long it will stay this way, and it could all change tonight...but I have to give credit where credit is due.
Interesting theory. No doubt that Klaire and Korben were "colicky babies" in every sense of the word. A lot of doctors talk about the 3 month colic. I was really discouraged 2 weeks ago when we passed Klaire's 3 month birthday and she was still having such a hard time most nights. Colic is supposed to peak at 2 months and resolve itself mostly by 3 months. Well, Klaire's resolved at 3 months and 2 weeks. Theory is...Klaire was born two weeks early. Could it have taken Klaire 2 extra weeks for the "3 month colic" to resolve itself since she was 2 weeks early? Something to ponder...Ha!
Sincerely,
A grateful mommy
Monday, April 4, 2011
3 Month Birthday-March 26th
Look who is 3 months old! (I am keeping with my tradition of writing these posts 10 days late) I'm loving her St. Patrick's themed onesie for March. God bless Rudda Ward for these awesome monthly outfits! Wait until you see the 4 month one. It's adorable too!
(Everything you are about to read regarding her sleep, I wrote about 10 days ago...before she got sick last week and decided she didn't want to sleep in her bed anymore! I write more about this at the end of this post! Hoping we will be back to the sleep schedule I wrote about by her 4 month post. )
This has been a big month for her. About 3 weeks ago, after some encouragement from some friends and my favorite book, I allowed Klaire to "cry it out" for a little while in her bed at night to go to sleep. She was getting to where she wouldn't sleep unless I was holding her, and the habit had to be broken immediately. I was not getting any rest, and desperately needed some unattached time. I'm so glad I did that because it has made life so much better for me and for her too! She and I are much more rested, and I'm actually excited when I hear that she is awake because I'm eager to see her!
(Everything you are about to read regarding her sleep, I wrote about 10 days ago...before she got sick last week and decided she didn't want to sleep in her bed anymore! I write more about this at the end of this post! Hoping we will be back to the sleep schedule I wrote about by her 4 month post. )
This has been a big month for her. About 3 weeks ago, after some encouragement from some friends and my favorite book, I allowed Klaire to "cry it out" for a little while in her bed at night to go to sleep. She was getting to where she wouldn't sleep unless I was holding her, and the habit had to be broken immediately. I was not getting any rest, and desperately needed some unattached time. I'm so glad I did that because it has made life so much better for me and for her too! She and I are much more rested, and I'm actually excited when I hear that she is awake because I'm eager to see her!
She has settled into a 3 naps a day schedule, with a fairly consistent bed time of around 7:30 or 8. She usually wakes up around 2:30 a.m. for a feeding an goes right back to sleep until morning. She only has small windows of happy/play time during the day before she gets tired. Right after I feed her, she usually has about 20 minutes of happy time before she starts to fuss. It basically goes: 20 minutes to feed a bottle, 20 minutes of playtime, and 20 minutes of winding down before she falls asleep for another nap (Give or take a few minutes on each). She is usually always back down for a nap within an hour and a half of waking up. Like I said, the windows of happy wakefulness are very small, but as we learned with Korben, they will get larger over time. I felt like all I was ever doing was putting Korben to sleep, but that was the key to having a happy baby for us, and once we got Korben's sleep rhythm down we were all happier. I feel like we are right on the brink of that with Klaire and it is so exciting. I'm honestly thrilled to have these past 3 months behind us. The best is what is going on right now, and what is yet to come.
Klaire weighed 14 lbs 15oz at her check up this month. (She weighed 14lbs. at her 2 month check up, so she basically gained 1 lb. this month). She is still in the 95th percentile for her weight, but what surprised me is that she was in the 95th percentie for her height! She had grown 1.75 inches in a month! Crazy! She was 25 and 3/4. Tall baby!
She is in a size 3 diaper now and wears 6 and 9 month clothes.
She has become so generous with her smiles! I seriously can't WAIT to look over her crib when you she wakes up and see a smile that lights up the whole room. I love to watch her smile at her Daddy and brother! Thrills my soul! However, I've yet to get a good picture of the smile I'm talking about. It ruins the moment for her when I pick up my phone or the camera. I'll catch it soon!
She LOVES to sit up in her bumbo seat and her rainforest jumperoo. She likes being able to see what is going on. She still likes her bouncy seat because she likes to look at the toys that hang over it, but she would much prefer to be in an upright position.
Her eyelashes are getting long and dark! They make her look even girlier and I love it. I can't tell what color her eyes are going to be. Sometimes I am just sure that they are going to be brown, and somedays they look like a greyish blue.
She changes and learns so much every day. She is starting to focus in on everything and is attempting to pick up toys. It is the cutest thing ever to watch her grab at things. Sometimes she successfully gets it in her hand and sometimes she misses. She just shakes all over with excitement when she sees a toy she likes. She tries to hold her own bottle and every time Korben sees her he yells "BayKlaire is holding her bottle...isn't that SO CUTE?"
Korben still calls her BayKlaire, but he has also picked up on her little nicknames we call her. I call her KlaireBear, Sister Bear, and Baby Girl the most and he calls her all of those things at random times too.
She was sick for the first time last week and it was horrible. It was some sort of viral sickness that caused fever, congestion and terrible cough. The doctor said her cough sounded just like RSV when he listened to her. However, it only lasted 6 days and RSV usually lasts 1-2 weeks. Either way, it wasn't fun at all. She is just now getting back to normal as far as wanting to drink her bottles again, but sleeping...well, that's a different story. I held her constantly or she slept in the swing and now she does not want to sleep in her bed. Desperately wanting to get back to the somewhat-schedule we had before she got sick!
I have no doubt that the sleeping thing will get better and better each day. What I can't emphasize enough about Month 3 is the joy that it has been to see her smile, begin to interact, and learn to play. It is just so fun that we can interact with her now, and we're starting to get to see her little personality come out. She is really the sweetest thing ever, and my heart is fluttering just typing about her. I could really just eat her up she is so sweet. I'm so in love. She is asleep right now in her swing, and I'm honestly excited about my middle of the night feeding because I look forward to seeing her! Although, I would be even MORE excited to see her if it was in the morning!
I'm going to TRY to blog more. Ha! Too much is going on to just do this once a month.
Korben Stories
I'm so exhausted right now, and have no desire to blog...but for accountability purposes I'm going to write down a few things I want to make sure I don't forget to blog about. These things will jog my memory.
1. Bullskie and Spooky Spice
2. BayKlaire
3. "Our God is Greater."
These are three Korben stories. This boy is so special. I promise you, he could have his own reality show he is so funny. I could not be more proud of this little guy. Okay, Stories to come later...gotta go sleep while I can!
1. Bullskie and Spooky Spice
2. BayKlaire
3. "Our God is Greater."
These are three Korben stories. This boy is so special. I promise you, he could have his own reality show he is so funny. I could not be more proud of this little guy. Okay, Stories to come later...gotta go sleep while I can!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Dear 3 year old,
Dear Korben,
I can not believe you are three. It seems like just yesterday that I found out I was pregnant with you, which was almost 4 years ago! Your daddy and I picked out your name years before you were born, when we were just dating. We dreamed about what "John Korben" would be like if God ever gave us a son, and I had dreamed of being a mommy since I was a little girl. I am so thankful that God gave you to us. You surpassed all dreams we could have had for what our son would be like. You have completely changed our lives in the best way. We love you with a kind of love we have never felt before, and you have caused us to be closer to God and to each other. You have helped teach me what really matters in this short life.
I feel so privileged to get to spend every day with you. There was a time that I didn't think I was going to get to be a stay at home mom, and God made it possible. I can not imagine if you had spent these past 3 years in a day care. The memories you and I have made together are priceless.
I have no idea how old you will be when you will read this, but I think you may find it interesting at some point in your life what you were like as a brand new 3 year old. So, I'm going to fill you in.
One of the most exciting things I can say is that YOU ARE POTTY TRAINED! At 2.5 you starting going #2 on the potty, and all we have had to work on since is you telling me when you needed to go #1. You made up your mind about a month ago that you were completely ready to be in big boy underwear and you have hardly had an accident since. I'm just so proud of you! It is so nice to not have to buy you pull ups anymore and your big boy underwear are SO cute!
You transitioned to a big boy bed last July and you are still a great sleeper. This is another HUGE thing to a mommy. Knowing that you are potty trained and you can sleep in your own bed so happily makes me feel like we have accomplished two of the greatest tasks parents have to face with a toddler!
Your vocabulary is ridiculous. Even before you could walk, I felt like you could say any word. Now you speak in paragraphs. You wake up talking and you don't stop unless you are asleep. Every thought you have is vocalized and it is very loud! You want to talk to me about everything all day long. You want to be right by my side and ask every question you can think of. You are not that kid that run off to do your own thing, although you have learned a lot more independence since Klaire has arrived. You want to do what we are doing and join in our conversation about it. Most recently, you have watched us as we have watched the horrendous footage of the tsunami in Japan. You have asked questions about it and anytime we see any of the coverage on TV you talk about how sad it is that the people have lost their homes and cars in Japan. You also can articulate what you have learned in Sunday School at church. I loved hearing you tell me about Jonah and the Whale a few weeks ago, and about your lesson on giving. After receiving so many new toys for your birthday, your daddy asked you to pick out three old toys to give to kids who didn't have any toys. Then, you told me yesterday that your sunday school lesson was on giving and reminded me that you gave some of your toys to kids that don't have any toys. I'm so thankful that you were able to comprehend why we had you do that. This makes me so so proud.
Speaking of sunday school, you LOVE to go to church. You go on wednesday nights, sunday mornings and sunday nights. You love all of your teachers and friends. However, I'm not the type of mom that thinks my child can do nothing wrong. Oh no. You get very excited sometimes, and struggle with hitting. Your teachers always tell me that it is rarely in a mean way, it is just an "overly excited, linebacker sort of way." You know it is wrong, and when you give me an account of your time away from me you always give me an honest review of everything you did...the good, the bad, and the ugly. You admit the wrong things you did to us even when you know that there will be consequences. I'm so grateful that you haven't learned to lie yet. I pray you will always be honest with us, and we can keep communication lines open. Hopefully one day you will get the big picture, and realize that we love you no matter what and we discipline you because we love you. At this point, spankings don't seem to have NEAR the affect on you as "taking something away." In fact, the greatest punishment for you is to be sent to your room, away from us. You can not STAND isolation from people, even if you are sent to a room full of toys. I find that so interesting!
Your imagination is so wonderful. You still have Bullskie, your imaginary dog and talk about him all the time. There is not one prayer that you pray that Bullskie isn't prayed for. I would love to get inside your head and see what you are seeing sometime! You love to cook us imaginary food. Our coffee table is your "kitchen", and you could serve us for hours! Its so adorable!
I haven't mentioned how sweet you are yet, but you really are the sweetest boy. You have so much love for others. You love to pray for all of those that you love, and you never seem to leave ANYONE out! You have a really great memory! You learn lyrics and words to books so easily. Your favorite song is "Our God" by Chris Tomlin (you call it "Our God is Greater"). You want to hear it every single time we get in the car, and of course, I always play it for you. The theology is on point, and I want those words to be written on your heart. Hearing you sing the lyrics is the greatest sound on earth. Worship in its purest form. Oh, how wonderful will that day be when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior...that will be the greatest decision of your whole life!
Ever since I've had Klaire, I've noticed that you have become a BIG snuggler with me. Anytime I'm not holding her, you take every opportunity to be close to me, and I LOVE IT! You will often ask me while sitting next to me, "Mom, you got lipstick on?" And if I say no, you will just plant the biggest kiss on my lips!"
Speaking of Klaire, you are a wonderful big brother. You usually refer to her as "your" baby most of the time, but sometimes you will call her "our" baby. Ha! I recently told you about a friend of mine that had a baby in her belly and I mentioned the name of the new baby. You said, "I just want OUR baby." You are very possessive of her, but also very proud. You want everyone to see her. You love for your "friends" to get to see her. I love how you say her name. You rarely call her Klaire, she is "Baby Klaire", but you say it so fast, it really sounds more like "BayKlaire." I will be sad one day when she is no longer "Bayklaire." You love to make her smile. She has just now started connecting with us and smiling. I can tell that you are going to be her favorite person in the world soon. How wonderful it will be to see her reciprocate all the love that you have been giving her for months.
I think you are the most handsome boy I've ever seen in my life. Your red hair is still so beautiful, and your blue eyes melt my heart. When you were a baby, your daddy and I did everything but stand on our heads (well, we probably did that too) just to see you smile. Your smile still lights up our life. Anytime I'm away from you for any amount of time, seeing your smile from across the room is the greatest feeling in the world. I'm SO proud you are mine. Hear that, Korben. I'm SO PROUD that I get to call YOU, "MY SON." To say you are special is an understatement. There is NO ONE like you, and your daddy and I will love you unconditionally for the rest of our lives!
Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet boy!
I love you!
Mommy
I can not believe you are three. It seems like just yesterday that I found out I was pregnant with you, which was almost 4 years ago! Your daddy and I picked out your name years before you were born, when we were just dating. We dreamed about what "John Korben" would be like if God ever gave us a son, and I had dreamed of being a mommy since I was a little girl. I am so thankful that God gave you to us. You surpassed all dreams we could have had for what our son would be like. You have completely changed our lives in the best way. We love you with a kind of love we have never felt before, and you have caused us to be closer to God and to each other. You have helped teach me what really matters in this short life.
I feel so privileged to get to spend every day with you. There was a time that I didn't think I was going to get to be a stay at home mom, and God made it possible. I can not imagine if you had spent these past 3 years in a day care. The memories you and I have made together are priceless.
I have no idea how old you will be when you will read this, but I think you may find it interesting at some point in your life what you were like as a brand new 3 year old. So, I'm going to fill you in.
One of the most exciting things I can say is that YOU ARE POTTY TRAINED! At 2.5 you starting going #2 on the potty, and all we have had to work on since is you telling me when you needed to go #1. You made up your mind about a month ago that you were completely ready to be in big boy underwear and you have hardly had an accident since. I'm just so proud of you! It is so nice to not have to buy you pull ups anymore and your big boy underwear are SO cute!
You transitioned to a big boy bed last July and you are still a great sleeper. This is another HUGE thing to a mommy. Knowing that you are potty trained and you can sleep in your own bed so happily makes me feel like we have accomplished two of the greatest tasks parents have to face with a toddler!
Your vocabulary is ridiculous. Even before you could walk, I felt like you could say any word. Now you speak in paragraphs. You wake up talking and you don't stop unless you are asleep. Every thought you have is vocalized and it is very loud! You want to talk to me about everything all day long. You want to be right by my side and ask every question you can think of. You are not that kid that run off to do your own thing, although you have learned a lot more independence since Klaire has arrived. You want to do what we are doing and join in our conversation about it. Most recently, you have watched us as we have watched the horrendous footage of the tsunami in Japan. You have asked questions about it and anytime we see any of the coverage on TV you talk about how sad it is that the people have lost their homes and cars in Japan. You also can articulate what you have learned in Sunday School at church. I loved hearing you tell me about Jonah and the Whale a few weeks ago, and about your lesson on giving. After receiving so many new toys for your birthday, your daddy asked you to pick out three old toys to give to kids who didn't have any toys. Then, you told me yesterday that your sunday school lesson was on giving and reminded me that you gave some of your toys to kids that don't have any toys. I'm so thankful that you were able to comprehend why we had you do that. This makes me so so proud.
Speaking of sunday school, you LOVE to go to church. You go on wednesday nights, sunday mornings and sunday nights. You love all of your teachers and friends. However, I'm not the type of mom that thinks my child can do nothing wrong. Oh no. You get very excited sometimes, and struggle with hitting. Your teachers always tell me that it is rarely in a mean way, it is just an "overly excited, linebacker sort of way." You know it is wrong, and when you give me an account of your time away from me you always give me an honest review of everything you did...the good, the bad, and the ugly. You admit the wrong things you did to us even when you know that there will be consequences. I'm so grateful that you haven't learned to lie yet. I pray you will always be honest with us, and we can keep communication lines open. Hopefully one day you will get the big picture, and realize that we love you no matter what and we discipline you because we love you. At this point, spankings don't seem to have NEAR the affect on you as "taking something away." In fact, the greatest punishment for you is to be sent to your room, away from us. You can not STAND isolation from people, even if you are sent to a room full of toys. I find that so interesting!
Your imagination is so wonderful. You still have Bullskie, your imaginary dog and talk about him all the time. There is not one prayer that you pray that Bullskie isn't prayed for. I would love to get inside your head and see what you are seeing sometime! You love to cook us imaginary food. Our coffee table is your "kitchen", and you could serve us for hours! Its so adorable!
I haven't mentioned how sweet you are yet, but you really are the sweetest boy. You have so much love for others. You love to pray for all of those that you love, and you never seem to leave ANYONE out! You have a really great memory! You learn lyrics and words to books so easily. Your favorite song is "Our God" by Chris Tomlin (you call it "Our God is Greater"). You want to hear it every single time we get in the car, and of course, I always play it for you. The theology is on point, and I want those words to be written on your heart. Hearing you sing the lyrics is the greatest sound on earth. Worship in its purest form. Oh, how wonderful will that day be when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior...that will be the greatest decision of your whole life!
Ever since I've had Klaire, I've noticed that you have become a BIG snuggler with me. Anytime I'm not holding her, you take every opportunity to be close to me, and I LOVE IT! You will often ask me while sitting next to me, "Mom, you got lipstick on?" And if I say no, you will just plant the biggest kiss on my lips!"
Speaking of Klaire, you are a wonderful big brother. You usually refer to her as "your" baby most of the time, but sometimes you will call her "our" baby. Ha! I recently told you about a friend of mine that had a baby in her belly and I mentioned the name of the new baby. You said, "I just want OUR baby." You are very possessive of her, but also very proud. You want everyone to see her. You love for your "friends" to get to see her. I love how you say her name. You rarely call her Klaire, she is "Baby Klaire", but you say it so fast, it really sounds more like "BayKlaire." I will be sad one day when she is no longer "Bayklaire." You love to make her smile. She has just now started connecting with us and smiling. I can tell that you are going to be her favorite person in the world soon. How wonderful it will be to see her reciprocate all the love that you have been giving her for months.
I think you are the most handsome boy I've ever seen in my life. Your red hair is still so beautiful, and your blue eyes melt my heart. When you were a baby, your daddy and I did everything but stand on our heads (well, we probably did that too) just to see you smile. Your smile still lights up our life. Anytime I'm away from you for any amount of time, seeing your smile from across the room is the greatest feeling in the world. I'm SO proud you are mine. Hear that, Korben. I'm SO PROUD that I get to call YOU, "MY SON." To say you are special is an understatement. There is NO ONE like you, and your daddy and I will love you unconditionally for the rest of our lives!
Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet boy!
I love you!
Mommy
Friday, March 11, 2011
Family Pics
The fabulous Leigh Ann Hasley took family pictures of us on February 26th. Klaire was fussy that day, but you would have never known it! Leigh Ann got some fabulous pictures of our babies and we are so grateful! I can't believe she has photographed Korben since he was 2 months old, and now he is 3 already! I like to have photo sessions with Leigh Ann just to get to hang out with her! The hardest part is just deciding what pictures to order. Here are a few of our favorites.
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