December 2009

Can this be? Did I figure out how to put a slideshow on my blog???

Web Album

So...I have been trying for quite awhile now to share a web album on the blog so that I don't have to upload all of my Christmas photos individually. I am still working on this endeavor, but fear it means downloading yet another software program. Why, oh why, does everything require a new software program? Regardless, stay tuned for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and everything in-between photos.

Kons Christmas

Here are some photo highlights from the Kons Christmas on December 26th.

Kyrie at the Kons' house is excited to receive a stable for her horses.


Drew opening a present.


Will is quite excited about his gift.


Lariska is thrilled to receive a Leapster of her own.

Seven Months Old

 

On Christmas Day, our itty-bitty baby Declan celebrated his seven month birthday. Okay...so that's totally off. First, Declan is not itty-bitty - I just say that all the time to be funny...and to keep him from getting a complex from all of the "he's so huge" comments he gets. Also, we didn't really "celebrate" per se. More like, I noted his new age, lamented for a few seconds upon it, and then moved on. Regardless, Declan is indeed now seven months old. For his birthday he received...da da daa...his very first tooth. Lucky us. His bottom left tooth broke through that night after several days of being quite swollen in the gums. Declan is now getting quite good at rolling to wherever he wants to go and occasionally gets up on his knees and lunges forward, he is sitting up to perfection, he says "Mama" and "Dada" and "Nana", though we aren't sure he knows just what it is he is saying. He tries to wave "hi" while saying "haaaaaaa" but it comes out as kind of an arm flap - that I really do think he knows he is saying (it just sounds too close to not be). He is also trying to clap and say "yea!" which he gets better at everyday, but most of the time results in his arms getting crossed and the sound "ahhhh". But it's awfully cute. He is also working on pulling himself up. He has the arm strength and will get quite far in the endeavor before his feet trip him up - he hasn't quite got the hang of moving them once he is standing in order to retain his balance. So...there is lots to work on in the coming month, but he is doing so good. The thing I enjoy hearing most from lots of people is what a smiley baby he is. He has an adorable grin that is quite contagious and he is free with his laughter, which is so very nice. We love our Declan William so much and like every month, cannot believe he is another month older. Merry Christmas, itty bitty baby big boy.

Christmas 2009

Here are some of the highlights from Christmas this year. I am going to attempt to put the other photos in a slideshow on this site, so watch for that in a coming post

Nana explains the true meaning of Christmas to the kids. (She does this annually - we hope one of these years it will sink in, but who can focus with all those presents?)


Lariska gave Kyrie a baby tiger for Christmas


Declan "opening" a Christmas present.


Lari gets a butterfly art set.


Children in a box.


Uncle Tim with (almost) all of his nieces and nephews. (Tyler is missing and Teagan is kinda hiding.)

D.W. 6 Months

Declan turned six months old last week Wednesday, just in time for Thanksgiving. We started him on rice cereal and he took to it like a pro. He actually bit down on it, swished it in his mouth a little and then swallowed. Awesome! The girls loved eating, but they spit their first bite of real food out!

He also had his six-month appt. this week. Get this...the kid is 20 lbs. 6.5 oz. (90th percentile) and 28-1/4 inches long (97th percentile)! Holy shmoly! Again, Kyrie and Lari did not hit 20 lbs. until they were one year old. Yikes! His head size also increased from the 50th percentile to the 90th percentile - I had a feeling something was going on there. Declan is now rolling around to get places, attempting to scooch every so often, sitting up like a champ, and in general is just a smiley, giggly, cute little boy. We did have some trouble with him this last week due to an extremely stuffy nose...he stopped sleeping his eight hour straight stretch and was waking up every 2-3 hours to nurse in order to clear out all of the stuffiness. By Monday I thought about calling the doctor and by Tuesday I knew that I should, but being the mother of a third child I decided to wait for his "well baby" check on Thursday. Yup - double ear infection. Poor baby. He muddled through, though without too much crabbiness, and now that he has been on antibiotics for 2 days he is already feeling better. Naptimes went so much better today and I am happy that I might have my healthy little boy back soon.

I did feel so awful for him on Thursday evening, though. He had four shots at his appt, plus the rotovirus oral medication, plus we started him on antibiotics, and then some ibuprofen on top of it all! Sheesh! I don't think his tummy was very happy. We are very proud of our little boy and can't believe it has already been a half of a year. Where did that time go?

Catch Up

Okay, I know I have used it before on the blog, but I can't help using it again. It is totally corny (or, in this case tomato-y), but here it is anyway:

What did Mommy tomato blog say to the lagging behind baby tomato blog? Ketchup.

I have blogged many new posts and placed them all on the actual dates that they occurred so that when I look back on this blog I can find the right thing in the right place. You can tell that they are post-dated however by their title of "__ Ketchup".

Field Trip Ketchup

I got to go with Kyrie on her field trip to the Nature Center in Brookfield. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a bummer - the rain kept us from being able to go on a nature walk and the regular teacher was not able to make it that day, so we had a substitute. Still...it was lots of fun just to spend some time with Kyrie - and I got to ride the all-important bus with her.

Kid Quotes

My children are not the only ones who say funny things. Our good friend, Dena McDowell, shared this story with me today about her son, Jake. I thought it was too cute to keep to myself:

Apparently, the McDowells were up North this weekend and someone had killed a deer which was now in the back of a truck. Jake and his Dad, Dave, were on there way to go and take a look at the deer when Jake asked, "Did they kill it with kindness?"

Did I get that about right, Dena? I love it!

Here is a picture of Jake with Declan from this summer.

Role Reversal

We have been having our share of authority issues lately with Kyrie. So...tonight we randomly decided to make Kyrie the Mommy and let her see what it was like to have challenging children. Kyrie's first decision was to assign Lari the role of Daddy and Matt and I became brother and sister. We had a lot of fun throwing fits and being completely irrational. Some very funny, interesting, and entertaining things were heard, but possibly the most hilarious came out of Lariska's mouth.

In a fit of "I wants" Matt and I threw out there that we wanted ice cream for breakfast, Fig Newtons for dinner, a trip to Punta Cana, and a vacation to Disney World. This made us wonder how much money "our parents" had so we asked Lariska why she wasn't at work. She immediately kissed us all goodbye and headed out the (bedroom) door to go to work. She came back just seconds later. We asked her why she was home already and she answered, "All of the lights were off. Work was cancelled."

Ahhh...if only. Well, at least they got a little taste of their own medicine. My favorite part of the evening was when Kyrie-Mommy let me go outside to ride my bike in the dark and cold. I came back in crying about my skinned knee because I ran into the garage wall due to not being able to see. After getting a kiss, I immediately threw a fit about how cold I was. Kyrie was quite calm as she looked for something to warm me up with. She called me, "honey" and said it was going to be okay. Gosh, I wish I was as good of a Mommy as she is.

The Kons Family Chaos

Top Ten Things We Are Thankful For In 2009

10. In February, Lariska had surgery on her ventral hernia (just above the belly button). It was a nerve-racking couple of hours for Matt and Kelly (and those closest to us), but all went well. Lari came out of the surgery crying with heart-breaking sobs, but once the morphine was out of her system she was just fine and was jumping on the couch by that evening. Crazy kids and their awesome healing abilities! We were extremely grateful for such wonderful surgeons, doctors, and nurses and now are just glad to have it behind us.

9. Kyrie came home from school just a few days ago and ever so nonchalantly dropped the F-bomb to her Mommy…almost as a question, really. We don’t think she knew what she was saying, but through a lot of coercing we learned that some kids on the bus asked her to sound out this wonderful word and so she decided to try it out on her Mom to see the reaction. It has been fun to watch Kyrie’s development as she is learning to read, but come on! Really?! Still, we are thankful for her wonderful teachers, their love for all of the children in the classroom and the way they handle crazy parents like us!

8. Matt and Kelly are both working on losing their baby weight; Matt via a DVD program, called P90X and Kelly by joining the YMCA. It’s official…we really are in our thirties! Matt works out at home in the basement and Kelly goes to the Y with her friend, Allie (the owner of Proud to Introduce Photography – she took the awesome photos on our Thanksgiving cards). We are thankful for our health and ability to both gain and (attempt to) lose weight.

7. In August, Kelly decided that she wanted to once again put 100% of her focus on her own family and children, so after having the summer off of her 6-hour a week job at ECUMC she made the decision not to return in the fall. Kelly misses the camaraderie of the staff, but knows she made the right decision. Even those short six hours were enough to weigh heavily on her heart – and it is Kelly’s joy and privilege to make raising these munchkins her full-time endeavor – something she is indeed most thankful for.

6. This summer, the girls had the best time swimming in the zero-depth pool at Wirth Park whenever the sun happened to come out. Amazingly, Lari surprised us by starting to swim all on her own. We thought it would ease our minds to have children who knew how to swim, but when your child is only three and can’t reach the bottom of the pool in most places, it just gives her a little too much freedom! We have to watch her like a hawk now but are so thankful that Lariska is open to new experiences and works so hard for things.


5. The Kons Family was most fortunate to be able to go Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in January of this year with Kelly’s parents (Bill and Jeannie Berrall) and sister’s family (J.J., Dan, Jackson and Tyler). The kids spent almost every day jumping in and out of the kiddie pool, eating ice cream, and enjoying exotic juices. Every now and then they would wander to the white sand beach or go on a walk with Pop-Pop, but their most favorite thing to do was the nightly mini-disco – just for kids – where they would dance till their legs almost fell off. We are not sure we have ever laughed so hard.

4. In September, our Lariska Jean (now three-and-a-half) started preschool. Lari really couldn’t wait to do such a big girl thing, especially after watching Kyrie for two years now. Our Guber is excellent at art projects and has had a wonderful time making new friends (of her very own)! Three is not an easy age, but if you can get past the stubbornness and sass, you will see a very giving, helpful, eager, and loving child whom we are so grateful to be blessed by.

3. In February, Matt and the Berrall-Kons Group switched firms and became Wells Fargo Advisors. They did a lot of soul-searching before making this move and in the end decided it was not only best for themselves, but also for their clients. Once they realized that the decision was a lot easier, though the process was extremely stressful. We are very thankful that all is going well with the move and that Matt has a job he enjoys, works with people he likes, and is able to support his demanding family. We are a fortunate bunch.

2. Our Kyrie Mikayla (now five-and-a-half) started Kindergarten this year. Sigh. The transition has probably been the most difficult on Mommy, but Kyrie has had plenty of moments as well…especially since she was still taking an afternoon nap till the day before Kindergarten started! Kyrie comes home crazy-hungry and is awful tired, but she is doing very well. We had our first Parent-Teacher Conference and learned that our Goose loves writing at the “Letter Lab” where she is doing excellent at writing independently, dislikes rest-time, enjoys talking lots with her friends, and still has trouble flushing the toilet! We are incredibly thankful for our unique daughter and the joy she brings.

1. We were so thrilled to welcome Declan William into our family on May 25th this year. He has been such a joy to all of us and we cannot believe that he is turning six months old this week! He is a large child – we are estimating he is over 20 lbs. now – and loves to be entertained by his big sisters. He has been rolling for awhile now, but has just started to realize he can get places that way. Decker (or Diesel – the jury is still out on his nickname) sits quite well, though we don’t trust him 100% just yet. He “talks” constantly and loudly – he has to compete with the sisters, you know! It has been fun to see what a boy can bring to this family and Declan has been the perfect addition to our craziness. We are so very thankful to have him and couldn’t imagine anything to be more thankful for than our wonderful, beautiful, crazy, chaotic family.

Cheese Sandwich

Last night at bedtime Lari began talking about how she wasn't very special. I assured her that she was and told her all of the ways in which I thought she was special (she's a good helper, has adorable blonde hair, she's always willing to share, etc.). After that, she said, "But, no one loves me." I was like, "Whu-ut?" So I put in terms I thought she would understand:

"Lari, I love you so much that if I had an Ice Cream Sunday I would give you the cherry. I love you so much that if I had a Greek Salad I would give you all of the black olives."

She seemed to understand this because in response she said, "Mommy, I love you so much that if I had a cheese sandwich I would give you the cheese."

I have to tell you that Lari is what we refer to as a cheese-monger. She loves cheese. So, this truly meant a lot to me. I, too, am very loved.

Cutie Ketchup

Field Trip Ketchup

I got to go with Kyrie on her field trip to the Nature Center in Brookfield. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a bummer - the rain kept us from being able to go on a nature walk and the regular teacher was not able to make it that day, so we had a substitute. Still...it was lots of fun just to spend some time with Kyrie - and I got to ride the all-important bus with her.

Playdate Ketchup

Baby Cousins. Declan is about 5.5 months here and Teagan just shy of 8 months.

Matt's Birthday Ketchup

On November 14th Matt turned 33 and on November 13th Cathy turned 30! So...we celebrated by having all of the Berrall/Kons family over for dinner. Notice the lack of photos of the birthday boy and girl. Oops! The kids were being too cute with their individual candles. Well, happy birthday, anyway, Matt and Cathy!

Sibling Love Ketchup

Here are some fun photos of the girls with Declan. As I often say, he is over-loved.

Buttered Bread

You know how if you drop a piece of buttered bread, it will always land butter side down? Yeah...a poop-filled diaper enjoys the same phenomena. Super.

I am, by the way, a professional diaper changer, so this really shouldn't have happened to me. But, even the best of us sometimes slack off a little. Just wish it wouldn't have been on my brand new white-ish carpet. Lovely. The only good thing I can say about it is that at least 5-month old poop comes out of things very easily! Declan thought it was funny, anyway.

Daddy-Declan Ketchup

BFFN Ketchup

Someone once coined our Sunday dinners as "Berrall Family Fun Night". Some Sundays are more chaotic than others, but lately the kids have taken to tying sheets around their necks each week and become super heroes. Here they are climbing on Uncle Matt while he does push-ups. The goal (obviously): hold on as long as you can. Oh, and try not to take the entire group down with you when you go!

What If

Lari: Mommy, what will happen if I die someday?
Me: Then you'll be with God.
Lari: But, what if you die, Mommy?
Me: Then I will be with God.
Lari: But, Mommy, what if God dies someday?
Me: (Long Pause) God can't die, Lari. That's the definition of being God. He'll always be there no matter where you are or what you are doing.
Lari: Can I have a hug and kiss?
Me: Sure.

Halloween Ketchup

Here are some photos from Halloween this year:

Burleigh Elementary had their Annual Halloween Party on October 23rd. The girls had lots of fun playing games and dancing to the DJ-ed music in the cafeteria.

Lari dancing through the decorations

Kyrie and her kindergarten friend, Amy.

Friends

Oooh, poor Lari - she looks SO tired! Too much dancing, I think.




Our friend Allie and her sons "ghosted" us this year. One of the things we received was a "Boo" onesie for Declan. Here are Declan and Allie's son, Desmond, wearing their onesies together (and Calvin and Lariska).


We got to celebrate Hudson Rose's 5th birthday with him on Halloween.

Brooklyn Becker, Hudson Rose, Lariska, and Kyrie