KalbKlan

Where to start, Where to start....

2009-12-23T22:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, so once again I'll admit, I am horrible at keeping this up. I think after the kids are in bed, it's either Facebook, which most of you see our daily lives in pictures by, or watching 20 minutes of TV while doing some laundry. I take for granted that most are seeing us on Facebook, then I am reminded by some other people....ehheh, my inlaws....that not all people are on Facebook. :-) SO....I will try once again to get better at this!

Where to start....well, this school year is half over, and Kinsey is in Kindergarten, Madison in 2nd grade, and Baylee in 4th. Wow, how did that happen? Just yesterday Baylee was learning to walk, talk, and constantly telling us...."Jay Wonka Jay, Circle round," which I remind her often. For those of you who are lost, my little Baylee, I was convinced was going to be an actress, had SO much to say and when it wouldn't come out the way she needed it to, this phrase was repeatedly told to us. We have no idea where it came from, but her Poppa wrote her a book about Jay Wonka, and we still read it often! And....as soon as it came, it was gone again, and these little things often make me smile as I think back and recap the memories. Madison and her pacifier, which was her BEST friend, and the night before Kinsey was born how I rocked my 14 month old crying because that would be the last night she'd be the "baby," and how incredibly guilty that made me feel. Then on to my Kinsey, who got an extra year with me at home because of how her birthday fell, and how extremely hard it was to send her to Kindergarten this year! I never thought the 3rd would be so bad, especially since I had yet one more at home with me, but this one really caught me off guard.

Let me recap this event, as I'm trying to catch you all up in our recent lives. Kinsey wasn't especially excited as her sisters were to start school. She was fine with 2 day a week preschool and being at home with me and Britton! As the days neared, I kept asking her fun things she'd like to do for her "last day" before school started. Apparently, I might have stressed that "last day" a little too much, and the night before her first full day, tears welled up and she let me know she really didn't want to go all day every day. It was then my flood gates opened as soon as I left her room! I was an emotional wreck. She was just my little shadow, and I had her all to herself, then with Britton after Madison went to school. Now, don't get me wrong, there were tears for all of them, but for some reason this one was the hardest! Later that night, Britton woke up crying, and the words "mommy, mommy" rang thru at around 2am. When I went to pick him up, all tears stopped as Mommy had come and made it all better, and then yes once again, even at 2am, my floodgates opened and thoughts of Kinsey and how she was once this small and all she needed was me to hold her, came to mind. I rocked him a lot longer than I needed to, sobbing, and thinking I might not get through this. Where did the time go...?

She made it through those first few days....not without tears at school for her mommy she missed, and not without more tears from me, but we survived. She loves school now, and always asks me on days off what they would be doing if she were at school. Then we blinked, and it's Christmas! Half a school year gone by once again, and time not slowing down at all. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and much excitement is in our house, as I was woken this morning to little ones telling me it was Christmas Eve Eve. Ah, to be a child again....but then I'd miss out on these wonderful years of being a Mommy!!

Their first day of school....

I know....I'm slacking!

2009-03-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am not good at keeping this blog up...but I promise to try harder! So, we made it through Christmas and had a blast. Then came January, and my little man turned one. Can I just say that this child's first year FLEW by! He was just born, or so it seems! I mean, seriously, if I had any more kids, I'm afraid I'd blink and they would be in college! I really did have a hard time with him turning one, because he's my last one, and I know that ahead of time now! (Actually we don't know that for sure, because if there is a chance of less than 1%, well, we know how fertile I am!) Below are some pics of him from his party. He was a real trooper, and carried the torch on from Madison of playing in his cake. I mean, he had a blast, and was such a sweetheart that he fed me bites the whole time!

So, he's 13 months now, and has such a cute little boy personality developing! The girls are constantly entertained by him, and are enjoying watching that personality come out! He loves each one for different reasons, its' so cute! Kinsey is his buddy that's home with him all day. He really has a playful personality with her. Madison is the comedian who makes him laugh a lot. She is constantly doing things to make him chuckle. Baylee is the other mommy...he feels secure with her I think. Life is good, and I am SOO blessed!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

2008-12-12T11:02:00.000-08:00

Last night we got SNOW, and several inches! Thankfully we were all home safe and sound, but Mom was stranded at my grandmother's, and Dad slept at Father Ryan, but I guess it beats the ditches where many were! Kinsey's Christmas program was cancelled, and she was bummed, but the time playing outside took her mind off of it! We never get snow in December anymore, so the snow day the girls got was much welcomed!!

SNOW!!!

2008-12-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

2008-12-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas time is near!!

2008-12-06T09:44:00.001-08:00

Today is the first annual Spring Hill parade, and the girls' girl scout troop is in it! We have borrowed Dad's truck and are decorating it for the girls to ride in. Last year we were in the big Franklin parade, and being 8 months pregnant and walking what seemed like forever, we opted to do the smaller parade that is close by this year!
We are slowly getting the house decorated, and are going to get a tree sometime this weekend. It's a family tradition to cut a tree, but the girls are wanting to buy one somewhere else this year. It has been SO cold here, we are considering it, but I hate to do that because with every child we have videos of the first time cutting one, and well, Britton would be left out! ha ha....Traditions, traditions!
Speaking of Britton, he had some "firsts" this week! He held his sippy cup by himself, and is waving bye bye now! It is so hard to believe he's nearing 1 ! The 4th goes by in a blink, and that makes me SO sad because he's my last one! Last night at my work Christmas party, there was a newborn there, and he was SO tiny, it made me sad that I won't have any more tiny ones again! Ahh....different times, and I'd have had several more kiddos! ;-)
Gonna run and get this parade thing going. Gotta get the girls to put several layers on, it's only 34 degrees and it's already noon.....we are going to FREEZE!!! Last night was in the low 20s!!! I just have no use for weather this cold if it's not going to snow!! LET IT SNOW!!

Thanksgiving Break!

2008-11-25T12:40:00.000-08:00

Well, the girls are out of school this week all week, so I am trying to keep them somewhat busy! I love Thanksgiving, but hate that all the Christmas decorations are already up everywhere! Baylee said today that she didn't know why stores had them up already, because it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet!

Yesterday, we went to eat lunch with Poppa at his school. I try to do this on days they are out of school and he's not, because Baylee and Madison are always in school when we do this. The girls love to go back to his classroom and draw on the boards. Britton decided to be his normal show-off self and when he'd snicker and scrunch his nose up to smile, the class would laugh, and he'd do it over and over as long as someone was laughing at him. He went to several of the girls in class, and Poppa warned him to stay away from the cheerleaders! ;-)

Kinsey had her Thanksgiving feast at school the other day, and afterwards, I wanted to get her picture by the teepee. She went over there to pose, and a little boy, one of her many boyfriends, came running over wanting to get a picture made with Kinsey. Right as I was about to snap it, another little boy came running over wanting his picture with Kinsey and jumped in the picture and put his arm around her just in time for the snap. Of course, this made the first a little upset, but she's completely oblivious to the fact they fight over her. She has 3 other girls in her class and hardly plays with girls, but is right in the middle of the boys all the time. This concerns us if the trend continues over the years....ha ha ha. She has a "husband" in there too, and they've been "husband and wife" for over a year now....

Sweet little Madison got in trouble for the first time the other day. She had to move a "card" from green to blue. I decided at the last minute to go up to school and eat lunch with her, and boy am I glad my mommy radar must have gone off. As I walked in school, her teacher let me know what had happened. Apparently, when leaving guidance class, which was in a portable, about 8 kids ran to the sidewalk. The guidance teacher told her teacher that some had been running, and when she asked them to stand if they were running, Madison stood. Her teacher said her heart sank when she saw Madison stand, but had to be fair and made them all change a card. Now, up until that point, she hadn't gotten upset, but when she saw me she lost it. She cried half of lunch and was SO heartbroken. She really took pride in that she had never changed a card through Kindergarten and up until this day! She was afraid her teacher was mad at her, and after lunch they had a long talk about how she wasn't mad at Madison and would forget by the next day that she had even changed a card. Of course the most heart wrenching part for Madison was that she wouldn't be able to get a treasure out of the treasure chest at the end of the week. I finally got her calmed back down to go back in class, and that Friday, when she was getting ready to leave, her teacher told her to get a treasure, and Madison reminded her she had been in trouble that week. Her teacher told me it blew her away that she had told her the truth when she had forgotten. I was very proud! :-) One thing about Madison, you can rest assured she'll NEVER run anywhere in school EVER again! ha ha ha...

Let's see...as for Baylee, well she's SO much more grown up acting lately. It makes me so sad, but she's a lot of fun to be around now. She also had her feast last week and had a test over the pilgrim unit and simulation they did in class. It blows me away some of the things she comes home telling me she learned in school. I mean, really! By high school I will have no idea what she's doing at this rate! She still loves for me to eat with her, so I try to take advantage of this as much as I can, because I know I only have a few more years until the embarrasing stage sets in and she won't want me to eat with her. That may kill me....

So long for now!

2008-11-19T09:52:00.000-08:00

Family Pic taken July 2008

Learning New Things....

2008-11-16T14:45:00.000-08:00

The past few days have been some fun ones with Britton. He is learning all those cute things that you forget about. He learned to throw a ball, and thinks it's especially funny that the girls will bring it back to him to do it again! He has started to pull up and cruise around the furniture and when you hold his hands, he's off!! You can just tell he's raring to go, and when those feet catch up to his coordination, he's gonna be running!

I decided to introduce some sign language to him as that has become a new big thing with babies now. They say you can communicate with your baby long before they begin to speak by teaching some sign language. SO....I tried, and it's so cute! The only one I've been working on a lot is "all done", when he's eating and ready to be done. Now when I think he's ready, I'll ask him, "all done?" and he smiles and kicks, and as I am picking him up, he's using his hands to do the all done sign! Amazing what little sponges they are!

Bedtime has become a special time as well, more so in the past 2 weeks because.....drum roll.....I FINALLY WEANED HIM!!!! Hear the "hallelujahs" as you are reading this? Yes, my son was by far the most stubborn when it came to giving it up! I just didn't have problems with the girls taking a bottle, but not him. After the first few nights of not letting him nurse were through, which he was down to that one feeding a day anyway, we are past it now! SO, it it's place has become the bedtime story. He's become attatched to the same book the girls did, and wants me to read it over and over and over. I think last night was at least 20 times! If I put the book down before he's ready, I sure hear it!

10 months old today, and I just can't believe it. I found out just how fast time goes after I had children, but I must say, the 4th goes by in a blink!!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a very eventful Halloween. The girls had a "trick or trot" fun run at their school, and each ran almost 2 1/2 miles. Needless to say, they were very exhausted, and the night had yet to begin. Madison had a halloween party to go to, so for the first time in her 6 year life, she wasn't with us trick or treating... :-( . BUT...I survived! ha ha. Once the pink kitty was off to Gracie's party, I came home to get the rest of the gang dressed and ready to go out. We were supposed to cookout in our culdesac, but it took so long to get everyone ready, we had a quick bit before we were off!! Baylee was Alice in Wonderland, Kinsey was Strawberry Shortcake ( a costume mom had made me when I was little), and Britton was a horse. After walking for a while, we ran into Madison and her party, but she didn't want to join us, she was busy socializing with her friends! After almost 2 hours of trick or treating, they decided they were tired and we headed home, just to get in the car and go to their great grandmother's house, Mamaw, to show her their costumes! OH, and I forgot to mention, Seth was the Joker from Batman....yes that scary guy Heath Ledger played. Needless to say, he scared many children and babies along the way, but not Britton! Britton knew his daddy! We headed home, watched part of Night at the Museum, and off to sleep they all fell. I was completely exhausted, but another Halloween had come and gone. How I wish I could slow down time!!!

His first big lip....

2008-10-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Britton was crawling around in his Sunday clothes after we got home. He had on one of those cute knit sweater outfits. I was in the other room when I heard him starting to cry. I rushed in there to see that one of the threads of the sweater had gotten caught on the hardwood floor and he was stuck. Being mad that he had gotten stuck, he pushed off, and his arms buckled under him and he did a nose dive into the hard floor! He was screaming. Now, having had three very dramatic girls, I am trying to make sure and make him a little tougher than them...ha ha ha. So, I picked him up and reassured him he was fine. He screamed for a good bit, then I got him calmed down, only to find, a few minutes later he was chewing on a stuffed animal and blood was coming out. When I looked inside his mouth, his new tooth had blood around it. Then I felt really bad for trying to brush it all off! This morning when we were on the way to school, Baylee commented that Britton must be really cold because his lips were blue. I found it a bit unusual, so when I got home Seth took a good look and realized his upper lip was swolen. I guess this is the first of many he'll have, huh? It still didn't hold a candle to Baylee's lip when she was two, but that's a whole 'nother story! ;-)

2008-10-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

Mummy turned Alice, Pink kitty, and Strawberry Shortcake

2008-10-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

Last night Baylee had a costume birthday party to go to. She had been saying for some time she wanted to be a mummy. SO...Seth got some sheets and shredded them. He wrapped her up and I painted her face and off we went to the party. She was unrecognizable to those who didn't see her walk in with me, and she looked great! She won the scarriest Halloween costume award and is SO proud of her ribbon. However, after a night of gauze and sheets unraveling, she's decided not to be a mummy for Halloween afterall! Tonight was another costume party, so Seth took her to buy one this time. Our mummy made an amazing transformation to Alice from Alice in Wonderland! Accompanying Alice to the party was Madison the pink cat, and Strawberry Shortcake! They looked adorable and after dropping the 3 off at the party, Britton, Seth, and I went on a date to dinner! It is so weird only having a baby at a restaurant! What a fun and eventful day!

P.S. The Joker will be following these three on Halloween, as well as a miniature horse, and one undecided mommy!

Little Fireman

2008-10-13T19:24:00.000-07:00

One Wish...

2008-10-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here goes! I've been thinking of doing this for a while, and am just getting around to actually getting started. Not only does this provide a way for friends to keep up in our lives, but it actually gives Seth's parents in Africa a way to log on and see what is going on in our lives without missing the cute little stories that happen every day that I might forget to email everyone about! And yes, Seth was born in Africa. Ask him sometime, it makes for some interesting stories!
All is well in the Kalb house today. Baylee and Madison were in school, of course, and I took Kinsey and Britton to the park with Mom. It's the small things that I miss sometimes with the girls in school, but this is my last year with Kinsey, so I am trying to stop and enjoy those things. As we played at the park, she stopped to pick up big leaves. The first one was the Daddy, the second the Mommy, and the little one was Britton. I had to laugh, but it was so cute! Then she picked out more that were Nana and Poppa leaves, and then, interestingly, she picked out Great Grandpap Kalb on the farm. Now, I am not sure what made her think of him all of the sudden, but I thought it was cute. We actually got a package from that set of Great Grandparents today, and in the letter, Great Grandma Kalb wrote that Great Grandpap was selling his cattle this fall. He is 86 and can no longer take care of the cattle in the fall. This was saddening for Seth, as he put it, it's a "chapter closed." Now when we go to their farm in Ohio, and we take wagon rides pulled by the old, large tractor, it won't be to see the cows anymore! The girls will surely be disappointed!
All of that to say, it made me stop and think. Ironically enough, later this afternoon, Baylee asked me..."Mommy, if you could have any one thing, what would it be?" Now, she's been studying Solomon in the Bible, who asked for wisdom when given this same question, so I had to stop and smile and make sure I said the right thing in case she had that story in her mind...LOL. Actually, though, my only wish would be to grow old, see all my children grow up and have children of their own. Now, my how the tables have turned. If you had asked me that question 10 years ago, what a completely different answer you would have gotten! :-)
I'm off to bed....my alarm comes early!