My Littlest Boy is Eight Months!

It seems like Kylie was just excited that her and Karter were both five! (5 months and 5 years), and now Karter has caught up to Kade and they are sharing the number eight!!

Here is the man of the hour in all his toothy glory!!

His arms and feet are still often in motion.  He moves his feet like a choir director would move his hands.  It is really interesting . . .and always makes us smile.

I LOVE having windows/doors that he can sit in front of and look out of.  I've never been able to do that with any of my other kids, and I think it is so neat for them to take in the outside world.  (what is maybe not so neat is the fingerprints left behind . . . .but that is completely off topic!)

This is a picture I found on the camera which was taken by Kylie . . . with Kylie's hat on Karters head.

Kade and Karter . . . .Do they look alike????  I still hear that he looks a lot like Kevin from some people, like Kade from others, and like neither from still others.  I think he's got a bit of each kid in him which gives him his own unique look.

Our new bathing station. It's quick and easy, but doesn't allow for splash and play time.  We do the big tub occasionally for that and he still loves it!

Karter is not crawling yet, but he is certainly beginning to move.  He can turn in a pretty quick circle and he inches around slowly but surely.  He is also starting to pull himself up . . . which is a little dangerous.  This chair came tumbling down on him once already, and he's pulled his highchair over and an island stool . . . and all this before he has started crawling.  Let's hope he figures out that it can be slightly dangerous.  So far only one has landed on top of him. The other two fell beside.

At eight months Karter:

• has seven teeth.  Does that seem like an awful lot to you? It does to me.  I affectionately call him "tooth" or "teeth" sometimes.  His teeth often surprise people when he gives them a big smile!
• is starting to play strange.  He has always been really quick with his smiles - stranger or familiar face.  Now he takes a few seconds (or longer!) and sizes the person up before either giving them a smile . . . or a really, really sad face which quickly turns into a wail/shriek, unless I distract him quickly enough!  It's too bad . . . but he still does nursery etc. no problem . . . and it is super cozy and cuddly for me when he snuggles into me b/c he is shy/scared or sad.
• LOVES to eat.  In fact he is quite intense about his eating and does this really funny thing that makes us all laugh.  He eats everything we give him (still pureed mostly).  Sometimes the first time he tries a food, he doesn't like it, but now it seems like he'll take anything.  He is not real good with chewing yet, so we're still doing mostly pureed and mashed. 
• enjoys cheerios . . . especially banging his highchair tray so they all fall to the ground. I don't think he's ever gotten one into his mouth on his own which is interesting b/c everything else seems to make it in his mouth no problem!!  (I guess his hand/eye coordination is not as good as I thought it was!)
• is quite pale . . . pale skin, pale hair.   He looks like he needs a week down south.   His hair is really growing now and he gets some pretty crazy hair sometimes - especially with hat season being here.
• goes to bed really well. He never ever cries when I put him down for a nap or bedtime.
• still does not sleep through the night . . .but he had a pretty good night last night;)
• still nurses regularly  . . .and yes the teeth do sometimes make the experience a little less cozy.
• seems to love being at home.  This is where he is in his element now.  Not that he is bad when we go out, but he seems to be especially cheerful at home.
• usually has a morning  nap and an afternoon nap (which added together would very rarely amount to more than 3 hours) and then he goes to bed around 8pm.  (can we call that a routine??;))
• was 19 lbs when he was last at the doctor - around 7 months.
• loves mirrors and pictures of himself.
• claps his hands and folds them.
• shrieks like a girl when he is really excited.
• hates having his nose blown.
• LOVES his mama and papa . . .and we sure love him too.

Western Day

We sent a bunch of cowboys/girl off to school this morning!

  I realize that most cowgirls don't ride unicorns . . . but it was "U" day for show and tell AND Western Day.  It just worked!

And . . . I guess I actually kept this one home with me;)

 The kids were pretty excited about "Western Day". They prepared well in advance (by notifying Oma that Western Day was coming up). Then they got to practice dressing up a few times too. Kylie thought about it a lot and it popped up in many conversations! 

 (a practice session)

 . . . and just because . . .(it shows some of his "seven month" traits) . . . and b/c I love it.

p.s.  I had to add word verification to my comment form b/c I was getting a bunch of spam comments . . . which though very complimentary (some of them anyway . . .telling me I write great articles ??! etc. . .and much more), were most unwelcome.  I know from experience that word verification is sometimes very hard to get by . . . so hopefully it isn't too annoying.

Its so cold . . .

I wrote this while living in the throes of coldness.  It is inpired by the cold, hard, truth.  (For those of you who don't know - we've lived in an old house for the summer until our new house was finished being built. In our old house,we had no heat.  We removed the source of heat (propane) early in the spring to prepare for building.  So the month of October for us was a little chilly - though we are very grateful for the two weeks in the middle when it was actually a bit balmy!)  Anyhow, though I wrote this a while back, I thought I'd wait till I thawed to share;)

It's So Cold . . .

• the thermometer says it is 5 or 6 degrees celcius INSIDE!

•  you can see your breath inside at any given moment.
• the fruit flies that used to bother you, are long gone.  Too cold.
• bedtime is a much longer affair, b/c you need to heat up so many bean bags (made by my mother and warmed up in the microwave to keep you warm while you sleep) and water bottles to tuck in with all of us.
• speaking of bed - you REALLY, REALLY don't want to get out in the morning.
• the milk freezes in the fridge - not sure why, but it was interesting to see when we poured it onto our cereal and it had all kinds of frozen milk flakes on top.
• the kids ASK for porridge for breakfast. It usually makes them grumpy to see oatmeal being served (they have it three times a week), but now they wanted it every day to warm their bellies!
• we fight over who gets to wash the dishes. (warm hands!)
• that when you straighten your hair, the steam is extremely visible
• that your glasses fog up when you put them on in the morning.
• you wear a minimum of three layers -eg. leggings, jeans, splash pants (and then get VERY hot when you go to town or elsewhere)
• hats and mittens are optional inside

• clumsiness abounds. I can't believe how many things I dropped or spilled in October.
• you might have to go to the van to warm up for a bit
• you dream up very important excuses about why you should probably go to town
• when you get home from town, the thought of leaving the warmth of the van is a bit daunting
• you are very grateful for friends and family who invite you over to their warm homes
• you eat lots of soup
• the laundry on my drying rack is still wet after three days.
• you have to use the dryer (which has a dual purpose - your clothes dry and your house warms up just a bit!)
• if you sit down on the couch and get cozy under a blanket - you probably will accomplish nothing for the rest of the day.  You will not want to get out. 
• that even though you live in a very old house - you probably don't have to worry about mice. Its too cold for them too.
• you tell your kids how lucky they are that they get to go to school and be warm.
• that being a stay at home mom is all of the sudden not the most coveted position - its kind of nice to leave the house and go off to work!
• that if your groceries don't all fit in the fridge - no big deal.
• you don't have to put your kids lunches in the fridge overnight. They can go straight into the backpacks - which also means you can stay in your warm bed for an additional two minutes in the morning.
• you no longer feel the need or desire to ever try winter camping. 
• there is a wind chill factor inside the house too.
• showers/baths are very popular (and LONG).  The kids have never been cleaner.
• you start thinking of your old house (the one we've lived in for the previous 9 winters) as toasty warm! (it was also a hard house to heat - but at least it HAD heat!)
• you start imagining that you may have rheumatism or some other problem with your joints b/c the cold just seems to settle there.
• instead of praying and thanking God for a warm home, your kids pray,"Thanks for a shelter to live under."
• that we've all escaped sickness this year so far.  Too cold for germs too:)

So now we are warm and cozy.  We have a house heated with vents for the first time in ten years.  It is wonderful. We are very thankful.  But, we want to remember those cold days, so that we don't take the heat we are blessed with now, for granted.  Having said that, I don't mind if winter holds off for a few months or so yet . .  though Kylie heard on the radio that there was a possiblity of snow for today and boy was she excited!! 

Karter is Seven Months

The boys had to rake leaves on one of their days off school and decided to make the pile on top of Karter!

Snuggled up warm and cozy with Kevin in the "cold house".

 

 At Seven months, Karter:

• is enjoying his solid food very much. He eats rice, oatmeal, or barley cereal twice a day and generally gobbles it right down. He does not seem to like bananas . . . but we'll try that again in a bit and see if it improves!
• has four teeth - and is getting two more as I write.  The last week, three of them have been making their way down and he was a bit grumpier as a result - but still quite a happy little lad.  His mouth/teeth are very strange looking - especially since you really only see the three teeth - two on the bottom and one (looks like the eye tooth, but is actually the second from the middle) on the top.  They are certainly coming in in their own special order!
• is now living in his third house. Quite the accomplishmnent for a seven month old. I was 23 before I moved into my third home.
• is starting to have a semi-recognizable schedule.  He does always have a morning nap - lasting about an hour to an hour and a half.  Afternoons are a little more wide open. Evenings - he tends to go to bed a bit earlier now - usually around 8 - but does certainly not sleep through the night yet.   But it frees up my evenings a bit more.
• is extremely ticklish and has the greatest laugh to go with it.
• shakes his head back and forth fast when he is feeling funny.
• is still a very cozy, cuddly boy -- and at the same time, is a real mover.  I guess, when he is not being cozy, he is kicking them feet and waving those arms.
• sits up super well, but has made no moves to progress from there. Which is super fine. 
• loves attention.
• makes some of the most interesting noises. I wish I could describe them . . .kind of like a loud inhale.  They make us laugh - and he makes these noises when he is very happy.
• laughs at and absolutely loves peek a boo games.
• has fairly decent hand-eye coordination. He puts his own soother in and can grab whatever he wants fairly easy - he doesn't make it look awkward most of the time - though we'll wait for the cheerios to come out to see if I still say that!
• is getting very heavy to carry around in his car seat.
• loves his toys.
• likes our new windows and the view they provide.
• is very loved.

 Soaking up some sun . . .

Just a bit . . .

 . .  of cuteness to warm you up on this cold day:)

 (We had to dress up "Western" for our family reunion on Saturday.)  

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Steve and Kate's this year on Sunday.  We all have so incredibly much to be thankful for.   Since we were all together in one place, we thought it would be a good time to get some family pictures done. No small feat - especially with only a self timer to get the attention of 17 kids and a whole pile more adults. You'll excuse those who may not be looking in the right direction.  You'll also have to excuse my children. Especially the older two.  I mean you can hardly expect children of such an age to look at the camera - and smile on top of that!

Anyhow, I'm quite thankful for each person in this picture below.  I think they are all pretty great.

The big pile of grandkids. 

The matriarch and patriarch.

Darwin and Carrie, Jeremy and Meika

(don't they grow up so fast?)

Steve and Kate, Anna and Kyra

After our photo sessions, we headed to the shop for supper.  Kate had it decorated so beautifully with various peoples fall decor.  It was quite cozy for a shop!
Karter

Spencer. He looks kind of sad here, but I just love his eyes!

Eating!

Yum!

And then we thought we should do some sister pics. 

Add mom.

And the outlaws . . . . we're just waiting (very patiently of course) for one more lady to complete this picture . . . and she has to be shorter than Beth;)

It was a lovely evening spent together - it doesn't happen as often as it used to, so we really enjoy these opportunities.  Family is a wonderful blessing and we are thankful to God for blessing us with eachother. Thanks to Steve and Kate for hosting (and all the work involved with that!) too.