I knew a little lady

I knew a little lady who swallowed some foil
I don't know why she swallowed the foil
I guess she'll toil

I knew a little Lari who swallowed some cocoa
what a joke-o to swallow the cocoa...
she swallowed the cocoa
to wash down the foil,
but I don't know why she swallowed the foil
I guess she'll toil.

I knew a Mommy who rolled her eyes
She did it in surprise, that roll of the eyes
She rolled her eyes at the swallowing of cocoa
What a joke-o to swallow the cocoa...
Lari swallowed the cocoa to wash down the foil,
but I don't know why she swallowed the foil.
I guess she'll toil.

I knew a Mommy who phoned the Ped.
What do you need, asked the the Ped.
Mommy phoned the Ped. because Lari swallowed the cocoa,
What a joke-o to swallow the cocoa..
She swallowed the cocoa to wash down the foil,
but I don't know why she swallowed the foil.
I guess she'll toil.

I know a nurse who said head to the lieu,
Make a number two, when you head to the lieu.
Lari has to go number two
because she swallowed some cocoa,
what a joke-o to swallow some cocoa...
She swallowed the cocoa to wash down the foil.
but I don't know why she swallowed the foil.
I guess she'll toil.
(In the bathroom.)

So...sorry for the painful poem. Now that you made it through I can tell you the story. I had a Dove chocolate bar that I was unashamedly devouring during naptime, when Lari woke up. We got her all dressed and ready to go, when Kyrie woke up. Lari decided to head downstairs while I got Kyrie...that took awhile - Kyrie was cra-a-aby. Upon reaching the family room 15 minutes later Lariska immediately says, "Mommy, can I have some chocolate?" I took one look at her and knew she had already had some chocolate. Her little lips could not hide the evidence. Upon inspecting the chocolate bar, however, it appears that she decided to take a bite right through the tinfoil wrapper. Uhhh....yeah. Thank goodness it was a very small bite. I knew she was going to be fine, but I called our pediatrician anyway. The nurse on the phone agreed that she would "pass it"....after I hung up I sighed very loudly. Lariska asked, "What's the matter, Mommy?" To which I answered, "It's not easy raising children." So yeah, that's our story for today.

Baby Genghis

Baby Genghis is healthy and looking good. Ten fingers, ten toes, four heart chambers, and lots of other good stuff. The babe did not cooperate at first with the technician, but by the end of our session we were excited to find out what kind of little one we are having:

Poll Closing - Already!

I am excited to share that we were able to get an ultrasound appt. for next Tuesday, January 13th. So...I am already going to close the baby poll on Monday night or Tuesday morning. Get your vote in now if you want to get one in at all!

ExpectNet.com, enter BabyGenghis into the name game field, then click on "enter a guess".

Thank you for your interest in our new little one, and please pray for a healthy baby!

Guess that baby

You are invited to make a guess as to the sex, birthdate, weight, length, time, etc. of Baby Genghis. We did not find out the sex of Kyrie and Lariska, but we are hoping to find out this time around. So...though we do not yet know the date of our ultrasound we do think it will be within the next four weeks. That means you have less than four weeks to make your guesses before I will be closing the vote!



Here are some stats to help you out:

Kyrie was born one day before her due date. She was 7 lbs. 15 oz. 20.5 inches. Born at 5:27pm

Lariska was born four days after her due date. She was 6 lbs. 10 oz. 19 inches long (though, I think they measured wrong). Born at 12:08am.

Ha! Doubt those stats will help you much!

Nonsense

For many weeks now, I have been called back into Kyrie's room at bedtime just to find out that the reason I am back is because she, "signed up for monster lessons" and now she can't make them go away. Can I just say, what the heck? Where does she come up with this stuff? Signed up for monster lessons?!?! Well, I usually come up with something just as crazy to get rid of the monsters from her monster lessons, but I grow tired of the ridiculous monsters. I know this is a relatively normal thing for kids this age because BabyCenter tells me so (ha! - I just got an e-mail from them saying nightmares peak with kids between the ages of 3 and 6 - but, these aren't nightmares, they are imaginations going wild and what the heck does BabyCenter know?), but it doesn't make it any easier. I think what is most frustrating is how do you combat a kid's imagination? I mean, I told her that it was a rock-solid rule with monsters that if you tell them to go away that they have to go home. Yeah...she says, "But Mommy, they keep sneaking back in." No matter what I come up with (including gathering all of the monsters in my pockets, throwing them all out the window, telling her they don't exist, telling her I only know nice monsters like Elmo, and more), she always has something to say that beats me. I am defeated.

New Year's Eve 2008

Casey, Cathy, and Amelia spent New Year's Eve with us. After dinner the family room turned into a dance floor as the girls shared their new favorite song with the Berrall's (Let's See How Far We've Come).

Christmas Day 2008

Christmas Day is chaotic to say the least at the Berrall house. Nine adults, five kids, three babies on the way, one jack russell terrier...crazy!

Children in a box. They certainly are the greatest gifts in our lives!



Kyrie gets a CD walkman, awesome...but, what is this thing?

Jackson opening a present.

Mommy got a Hogwarts Express train for Christmas. Wow, that is SO cool!

The kids enjoy dancing while watching themselves on the TV.

Lariska has had a little too much Christmas.

Christmas Morning 12/25/08

Santa arrived at our house in good fashion. We managed to snap this photo before the girls tore their presents and stockings apart. They each got a new pair of crocs, a book, and fruit snacks and treats in their stocking. Daddy got lots of ties, and some yummy stuff in his stocking, and Mommy received a new sweater, and chocolate in her stocking. Plus...I also got a beatiful butterfly pin that Lariska picked out herself, and a pink stone necklace that Kyrie picked out herself. Too cute!

Christmas Eve 2008

Christmas Eve was a whirlwind of fun. First, we had dinner at the Kons house (where Santa went walking by on the sidewalk across the street), then we went to church at Emmanuel Community UMC, and then we headed to Gma Starr's house for the evening tradition of secret Santas and singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

Lighting the advent wreath before dinner.

Oh my gosh, did you see Santa Claus?!?!

Santa!!!

Second cousins (I think???) Seth, Jayden, Kyrie, Lariska, Will, and Drew (held by Uncle Mark).

Lariska really loves Aunt Karen's yummy cookies.

Christmas Eve Service

At the Christmas Eve service, they had an impromptu telling of the birth story complete with costumes for the kids. Lariska, Will, and Kyrie donned angel costumes to reflect the angels that they already are (ha!). Unfortunately, Will and Kyrie were so far off to the side that I couldn't get a decent photo, but if you look closely, you might see Lariska center stage.

Snowstorm 12/24/08

Over the month of December we received several snowstorms. I judge the accumulation by the playhouse on our back porch. Here it is as of Christmas Eve.

Santa Pancakes 12/18/08

At our weekly playdate at the McDowell house, Dena had Santa pancakes for us to decorate. They were a very sweet, fun treat. We also exchanged Christmas presents and each of the girls was excited to receive an apron with their name on it and a kids cookbook to share. We have already made the french toast from the cookbook and I think Kyrie heartily approves!

Visiting Santa 12/16/08

The girls met Santa at the mall. Kyrie was excited to tell him how much she wanted a camera and Lariska echoed the sentiment with her own desires for a camera.