Cousin David comes to call

Johnny's father's sister's daughter's husband, David, was in town for a missions conference this weekend. He, his wife Lorraine, and their two young children live in the Denver, Colorado area. It's been around 3 years since we last saw him, so what a treat it was to meet him at our church and have him at our home for a few hours!

Henri was very excited to have Cousin David over. Before we met up with David, we found it difficult to convince Henri that David was not his age, so we began telling him that "Uncle" David was coming over. Still, Henri was happy to show David all of his toys. It was like a flashback to when Aunt Alice first arrived at our home last year. Apparently, old habits die hard; Henri put the same hat on David that he put on Aunt Alice and handed him puppets and other toys. We found out that Aunt Alice was able to visit with David's family (she's their aunt too) recently. How lovely for them!


Anyway, it was great to spend a little time with David laughing over the funny things our children do. Oh, how we treasured our time with him and wish we could have seen Lori, Steven, and Clara too.

10 Months Old

Cosette is 10 months old today. She:

• drools (as seen above).
• crawls.
• pulls to stand wherever she can get a grip.
  
• has developed separation anxiety in the church nursery. Today Cosette cried and cried in the nursery. So I took her and worked on the nursery computer while she happily played by my feet.
• loves playing with balls--any size.
• loves Henri and gets very excited whenever she sees him.
• now enjoys Cheerios & cheese as finger foods. Plus she enjoyed the baked beans her brother gave her yesterday while Johnny & I weren't looking.
  
• likes to sleep with her pacifier, sleeveless sleepsack to wear, and old long-sleeved sleepsack to cuddle with.
• still sleeps in a pack 'n' play in the guest room/office. We're not brave enough to have her in the crib in her brother's room yet.
• takes 2 naps a day, going down for the night around 7:30pm, waking up around 6:00am. I can usually coax her back to sleep for another hour after nursing in the morning, but not always.
• doesn't like to stay on her back long enough for a diaper change.
• cries when I tell her "no", which we've started to do when she's spitting at the dinner table.
• is very noisy, and likes to babble or just say, "Aaaaaaaaaaaa" a lot.
• scratches her nose frequently with her fingernails when rubbing her eyes.
• eats everything she finds while crawling--carpet fuzz, cheerio, grape stem, paper, pebble, ect.
  
• has a long, wide torso and short arms & legs with little feet and a round head with kissable cheeks. I think she's perfect & super cute.

6th Tooth

A 6th tooth has been discovered in Cosette's mouth (upper left of center).

Henri & his cousin Chase

at my cousin's wedding at my great-grandparents' farm September 15th. Though chilly, it was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding. The ceremony was in a mowed field, and the reception was nearby in the yard.

growth spurt

Henri must be growing. In the past few weeks, I have put away all of his size 2 pants. The pants seemed fine a month ago, and all of a sudden I'm putting pants on him in the morning, and they're too short. The size 3 pants that seemed so long for him last spring fit very well now (except Johnny told me that even the jeans (size 3) he was wearing yesterday were starting to get short on him. On top of that, he's outgrowing his size 3 long-sleeve shirts. They're short in the arms. So he fits best in size 3 pants & size 4 shirts these days.

I was not very happy today when Johnny told me that the little velveteen jumper/dress that Cosette has worn TWICE since the weather turned cool needed to be put away (it's 6-12 month) because she's too big/wide for it. But yet she was drowning in the sleeves of the 6-12 month shirt underneath.

(Disclaimer: This is not a request for new clothes (the kids are well-clothed), but rather a report of my amazement in how quickly Henri has moved into a new size in such a short time.)

Two?

Henri at breakfast this morning to Johnny: "There is only one God. And three guys. One God and two Jesus's."

Fall means change, and I'm not sure how I feel about it

Our church has 3 campuses. We've been going to the North campus since it started 5 years ago, and that's also when I started coordinating the nurseries. Since moving to our new home last year, we live just a few miles from the Downtown campus. A nursery coordinating position opened up at the Downtown campus recently, and I took it. So we're in the midst of changing campuses. I had already planned on bringing the kids downtown for the MOMS meetings and Wednesday night gatherings. But now I'll be working during the Saturday night service, and we'll all worship together on Sunday mornings. It's good and sad. We'll miss the North campus, all the people we've met there and worked with over the years. I look forward to a shorter drive to church and driving together with Johnny (we've driven separately since I have to be there early and then Cosette can nap at home). A few of my closest friends go to the downtown campus too, so I'm happy about that. Johnny's taking the kids downtown starting this weekend since Sunday school is starting, and I'll join him in October.

The other change we've been going through has to do with Johnny's schedule. We've been carefully scheduling out each night he is home. So when he's not working at the mall or at a company event, we schedule his time as "study time" or as "family time". "Study time" means that I take care of the kids all day long, and Johnny doesn't feel guilty about not helping. He gets lots of time to study programming so that hopefully, he can get some better paying side work. "Family time" means that Johnny's with us, not doing any work or studying. It's worked pretty well. Johnny can get more done this way and our family time is not interrupted by his work.

Lastly, because Johnny's time is so full, we made the decision to drop out of one of our church small groups. This is very sad since my closest girl friends are in that group, but Johnny is grateful for the freed up time.

2nd showing ever & other updates

On my way home from coordinating childcare for the women's Bible studies this morning, we got a call to schedule a showing at our home. We have a showing scheduled for tomorrow (Friday) morning, only our 2nd showing ever in the 4 1/2 months our home has been for sale. So we're cleaning today. It's amazing how I've let the house go because of the lack of showings.

Lien update: Johnny talked to our builder and the concrete company. The woman at the concrete company said she would try to stop the lien from happening yet. Our builder told Johnny yesterday that they're working it out, so there should be no lien put on our home. Whew!

I did end up coordinating childcare for the north campus MOMS group on Tuesday. Though crazy busy and I was sad to miss the MOMS meeting, everything went really well.

Though Johnny could not come with me again (he worked at Banana Republic), Wednesday night (yesterday) went much better than last week. I had a lot of fun sitting with my "small group" of six 3-year olds teaching them about God. I had a squirrelly group. During worship they all tried to hold my hand while we marched around the room. Then they all wanted to sit in my lap, and Henri did not appreciate being kicked off his throne (mama's lap). What a joy to be with these little ones! Really, it was!

playing catch up

I'm a little behind on the blog and have several posts I want to make. I'm trying to catch up, but a few new issues just took up my time today:

• Today we found out that a cement company is putting a lien on our house today if we don't pay them by 9/17 (isn't that today?) because our construction company didn't pay them.
• I might have to coordinate nurseries for the first MOMS tomorrow at our church's north campus. Poor Karleen is in the ER, feeling terrible, and Carmen (the head coordinator) is speaking at the MOMS meeting at the downtown campus (where I was to attend). So I'm making phone calls today (I chair one of the MOMS committees) to ensure everything I was supposed to do downtown is taken care of.
  

Wednesday

Henri, Cosette, & I headed out on the beautiful cool morning to a park with Rachel & Ava. The kids had a joyous time playing, and Rachel & I enjoyed our walk and conversation. Cosette looks like she's in a snowsuit, but it's a jogging suit that's very warm.

I took the kids home for lunch and naps, and then we headed to church (Johnny was at a work event). It was Henri's first night in Wednesday night preschool, and I volunteered to be a small group leader in his room. The night began well when I took the kids to the 2nd floor classroom for a pre-classtime meeting so that all the volunteers could meet. Then Henri, Cosette, & I headed down to the basement to drop Cosette off in the nurseries; worship time had begun in the sanctuary, and I was going to take Henri there before his class began.

Henri began exclaiming as we walked, "I don't want to go to worship! I'm not 4 yet! I want to go to the nursery! I don't want to go to preschool! I'm not 4!"

While trying to explain to him that since he was 3 in the fall, he was to go to the pre-school room and to worship with me, we walked down the steps to the nurseries. After checking everyone in, it was there that I realized that I didn't have Cosette's diaper bag, that I had left it 2 floors up in the connecting building next door. It was then that we saw Henri's good friend Toby, and my good friend Amy, dropping off her son Braden in the nursery. I had told Henri earlier that Toby would be there, and he was so excited. The boys began running around and around, laughing and calling each other's names. Then Henri decided that they should get on the elevator. Not listening to my calls, Henri pressed the button and ran on and off the elevator before the door closed. Helpless, I asked the nursery coordinator to grab my son who was near him. She did. Then while signing Cosette into the nursery and holding on tight to Henri's arm, Henri tugged and tugged, crying that he wanted to see Toby who was now near his mother. I got Cosette signed in, explaining that I needed to go retrieve her diaper bag. Henri cried out and said his arm was bothering him. The nursery coordinator was concerned that he may have pulled his elbow out. He wouldn't let me touch it, said he was fine, but he refused to move it. So we headed upstairs for the diaper bag, which wasn't in the room I thought I left it in. We headed back downstairs and into the sanctuary. I found one of the workers from the preschool room who told me that the team leader had the bag. Then I found the team leader who told me a different volunteer had my bag. So off Henri & I were to find her. We went back downstairs and then back up and found her. We missed worship and were just in time to head up to the preschool room. In the room, Henri didn't listen to me or anyone else, and he and Toby were separated. He was cranky, leaning in his chair, and fell out of his chair, knocking his face on the table. Since Henri still wasn't using his arm, I took him out of the room to find a doctor/nurse to look at it. The nursery coordinator told me that one of her workers was a nurse, so we took him to her. She moved around his arm, found his elbow out of place, easily popped it back in, and Henri was a happy boy! The rest of the night went much better, but I was exhausted, wondering if I should have volunteered in Henri's class after all. I'm glad his arm is okay.

see doctor, she can feed herself

if her mother would just give her the chance...okay, so she's just smiling in that one, so here is some pictorial evidence:

grabbing & in the mouth












grabbing & in the mouth

she's liking the swing

even when her brother is pushing it~at the park during Johnny's softball game~
It was a little cold & I didn't bring a hat for Cosette. Plus her brother poured ice water on her lap shortly after we arrived. I did have pajamas in her diaper bag. Though her nose was red most of the evening, Cosette didn't seem to mind the cool air.

he knows the answer to that question

Today, the kids and I were on our way to pick up my dad from the airport. He's been working in Las Vegas as an electrician since he's been out of work here, and my dad is home for 2 weeks for a family wedding. I needed to put gas in the car, so I pulled into a Costco gas station. As I was getting out of the car, I exclaimed to Henri, "How about I get some gas, and then we'll go pick up Grandpa at the airport. What do ya say, Henri?"
Henri: "Thank you."

Henri's haircut

Before:

After:
Nah, nope, he didn't get a haircut. I've offered twice since he asked for one last week. First time, he said, "Tomorrow." Second time, he said that he didn't want one and that he changed his mind. So I put conditioner in his hair, and it made it so soft and smooth and fluffy. :) I like his hair longer anyway. I like seeing all the waves & colors in it.

This is what Henri wore

to Cosette's doctor appointment on Wednesday. He picked it out himself. Dr. Terry even let Henri borrow his stethoscope during the visit.
Well, of course, you HAVE to wear your doctor outfit to the doctor's office!

they keep on coming

5th tooth (top right of center) appeared in a very cranky baby girl's mouth today.

the stats are in

Cosette's 9-month well-baby check-up yielded the following:

• length: 27 in = 25th percentile
• weight: 18 lbs = 40th percentile
• head: 17.75 in = 75th percentile (both my kids got my large round head)
• and one healthy baby girl, except she doesn't feed herself, say & wave "bye bye", or use her pincer grasp. (Not her fault though since I haven't thought to let her TRY to feed herself nor teach her "bye, bye" yet, so I'm not worried & neither was her doctor.)
  

For fun, let's look at Henri's 9-month stats:

• length: 28 1/2 in = 50th percentile
• weight: 20 lbs = 40th percentile
• head: 18 in = 50th percentile
• and one healthy baby boy who had eczema & food allergies
  

horses?

I had the kids in our stroller, and we were about to head to the park. Being that I take the stroller down a steep hill to get to the alley, I said to Henri, "Hang on to your horses! We're going down the hill!"

Henri, who had his toy guitar in hand, "Mama, I don't have any horses. I just have my guitar."

pull to stand

So I'm taking pictures of the kids in the crib this morning:












Henri told me today, "Mama, my hair is getting long. I need a haircut."
I said, "Okay, when do you want me to cut your hair."
Henri: "How 'bout tomorrow?"
Cosette has so many cute summer clothes (thanks Nani and cousin Andy & Heather) that I'm a little sad that we live in Minnesota and that the weather will soon be changing. It's too bad that she probably won't be fitting in them next summer. I'll be passing them onto my sisters Kristin and/or Jaime if they have girls this November. I enjoy seeing other kids wearing the clothes my kids used to wear...brings back memories...sniff, sniff.












Below is Henri pretending to be a baby (a new favorite past-time of his) by putting his mouth on the crib rail. Today, he told me, "I'm the same age as Cosette." Am I not giving him enough attention? Anyway, here's Cosette pulling herself to her knees as she likes to do in her crib...or is she? I soon noticed that she was in fact not on her knees. But that she was standing! (A little surprising to me since Henri was 11 months when he pulled up to stand for the first time.)"Cosette, you're standing! Good job, Baby Girl!"And below is Cosette's big brother in her face saying, "Good job, Cosette!" But she didn't really appreciate it.












Cosette is off to the doctor tomorrow for her 9 month well-baby check-up (originally scheduled last week, but her doctor called-in sick).

4th tooth

This just in:
~top left tooth discovered in Cosette's mouth~

Bob & Larry

My friend, Amy, gave us some of her garden fresh cucumbers & tomatoes. Mmmm good. I enjoyed a sandwich with cream cheese, cucumber, dill, and tomato while Henri claimed some of the vegetables for himself.






"I'm Bob the tomato."
"And I'm Larry the cucumber."

Henri: "It's Bob the tomato & Larry the cucumber!"

I let Henri play with them at the table. Unfortunately, "Bob" soon met his demise when a certain little boy smashed "Bob" with the refrigerator door:Ahh, but never fear. A new "Bob" was soon found, and the old "Bob" made its way into the Sloppy Joes I made for dinner that night:Never mind that the new "Bob" was a cherry tomato. Henri was happy, until he dropped "Larry" one too many times, and "Larry" cracked open.

Now Henri has been asking me for a new "Bob" and "Larry" so that he can play with them at the table. My poor vegetables.