Happy Harry Potter Day

More commonly known as Halloween.  We once again celebrated by having some friends over for pizza and then hitting the streets for some good ol' fashioned candy-begging.  It was a bit chilly, so I came back with Hugo earlier than everyone else, but the kids made it later than they ever have before.  Poor Declan, most of the candy has "itchies" (dairy), but he had a great time anyway.

Grandma enjoys trick-or-treating with the kitty cats and Meridas of the house.

 

If you look very closely, you may be able to see a pair of glowing red eyes.  Behind those eyes is none other than Joe Wilde, then his sister, Kate Wilde, Kyrie, Breanna, Lariska, and Amy.

 

I don't know how we missed out on getting a good photo of Declan, but he went as Obi Wan Kenobi, and so Hugo had to, of course, go as...Yoda.

 

First Word?!

Hugo has been saying "Dada" whenever he sees Matt, so technically I should count that as his first word.  All my other children, however, said "Ma-ma" when I walked into a room and I never counted that as their first word, so....  This morning I walked into Hugo's room and sang him his "Good Morning" song as I turned on the light.  I walked over to his crib and he looked up at the ceiling and said, "ight".  It was so clear.  So, Hugo's first word, according to me, like his sisters Kyrie and Lariska, was "light".  Declan's first word, as I remember it, was "La-la", as in Lari.

It makes sense that Hugo would also have this be his first word as he loves to turn off Declan's light at naptime.  We do a (made up) sign for light and say it every day.

I have to say, though, that I also hear Hugo saying "all done" (ah-duh), "water" (wa-ta), and occasionally "Mom" (ma-mmm).  But, they have never been so clear as when he said "light" this morning.  So, "light" wins!

A photo taken yesterday with his da-da.

Nine Little Pumpkins

Nine little pumpkins all standing in a row...

Nine Month Stats

It's official, Hugo's getting to be a big boy!

Height: 30-1/4 inches (98th percentile?!)
Weight: 20 lbs. 11.5 oz. (70th percentile)

And, as an interesting add-on, his head circumference was around 44-1/2 cm, but that's not official because the first time they measured they got a different number and upon looking at the percentile chart deemed it to be too low.  When she re-measured it went up, but not by much, so Hugo's head size may have gone down in percentile.  We'll see at his one-year visit.  We saw the physician's assistant this time around, no Dr. Grunske, but I know what she would've said had she been in the room..."Well, Kelly, your head is pretty small, so possibly Hugo is just going to have your size of head rather than Matt's."  Yeah....gotta love it.

Other than that, all is well with our Hugo-potamister.

Costume Party

Burleigh's annual costume party was a big hit again this year with the Kons kids.  They enjoyed playing games, doing craft projects, and especially had a great time dancing the night away with their friends.

 Kyrie and Kate Wilde

 Amy Brandel, Breanna Hoeppner, Ahmijat, and Kyrie

Lariska and Eve Hockerman

Naptime Routine

Before I forget, I want to be sure to capture our new naptime routine.  Declan and I read a book while Hugo plays at the train table.  Hugo poops.  I sing Declan his song, tuck him into bed with a drink of water (which Hugo tries to steal), and then Hugo gives Declan his best hug (more like a head bump), followed by a kiss for Hugo from Declan.  Then, Hugo and I walk to the light while Declan counts to twenty.  Hugo is jumping and squirming this whole time.  He knows what comes next.  When Declan gets to twenty, he yells, "Off!" and where I used to turn the light off, now Hugo does.  He giggles and Declan giggles.  It is hilarious.  And, Hugo pulls that switch down all by himself.  He is so proud of himself, it is adorable.  Gotta love these little boys.

How Big Is Hugo?

Sooooo Big!

 

Elizabethean Days

Poor Auntie Cathy...just as she quit her job and decided to become a stay-at-home mom before the baby was born, she was put on bedrest!  While it is a big bummer for her to be confined to her bed and the couch, it has been fun for us to have Elizabeth over many afternoons a week.  She takes a good nap in Kyrie's bed and has been having lots of fun with Declan and Hugo.  We are loving getting to know this little girl even better.

Happy Swedish Day!

Although I do not put much stock in Sweetest Day, my husband is good enough to observe the "holiday" by bringing me flowers each year.  But, this year he also brought me Swedish Fish and said, "Happy Swedish Day!"  To which I laughed and laughed - that was worth more than anything else he gave me (although I highly enjoyed my fish).  So, I say to you as well, Happy Swedish Day!

Maybe next year I will get some meatballs!

Nine Months

Where did three-quarters of this year go?  When I look at this child I still think I have a newborn...but, I so do not!  The time I notice it the most?  (This may surprise you.)  When I am burping Hugo after a nursing I still remember how little he was; how my entire hand was larger than his back and so I would pat him way low on his butt rather than high on his back (I felt like it was too jarring to pat him up there - he would jump when I just tapped him).  I am so surprised when I go to burp him that his back is now larger than my hand and I can pat his back without problem.  I miss that tiny little back of his, but am enjoying the bigger boy he has become.

Hugo is a proficient crawler, getting into everything he can (the telephone, outlets, tv cabinet, book shelves, etc.).  He also is a pro at pulling himself up on just about anything, including the wall or mirror or sunroom door.  He is now cruising as well.  He will go from his Learning Table reach over to the crib rails and then stand holding onto the crib.  Or, from the train table to the rocking chair, etc.  And actually, he thinks he can do this with the air.  It is pretty funny to watch him standing one moment, reach out to absolutely nothing, take a step, and then fall straight down.  I would say this is a fluke, but he does it all the time.  The kid thinks he can walk...or bend air...or something.

Hugo's sign language is going really well.  He is not consistent with any of the signs, but several people have seen him do "milk" and "eat" and he does a modified version of "all done" where he flaps his arms and screeches at me.  I know what he means!

He feels less hefty to me than I remember Declan feeling, but maybe that is because my arm muscles are now used to picking up 40-lb Declan!  We will find out next Thursday just where this child is at, but my guess would be...somewhere between 20 and 21 lbs.  Watch, we'll find out it is way more than that!

I can't believe that this little bugger only has a quarter of the year left till he is the big One.  I remember last year at this time I was gearing up big-time in preparation for his birth, knowing that the holidays would suck up most of my time.  Here we are again coming up fast on the busiest time of year.  I am going to take a few moments to reflect on the joy Hugo has brought to our family in the last nine months - I am so thankful to have him.

Big Shoes

Those are some big shoes to fill, Declan.  Are you sure you're ready?!

Boys Will Be Boys

My Cutie-Pie

When I go into Hugo's room now, this is how I find him (for quite some time, but I keep forgetting to get a picture and post it!):

By Kyrie

Kyrie wrote this during computer lab time at school today.  Heart melt, right?  If only the sibling love was like this everyday.

Early Release Game Day

The boys were still sound asleep when the girls arrived home from school this afternoon (Early Release Thursday).  So...I broke out our Tetris game and we had some quiet fun.

Gig on the Side

The previously posted "Gig on the Side" has moved.  I have had some more time to think on the subject.  The revised, tweaked, new addition can be viewed on my new blog "Finding the Joy in Parenting".  I have, for some time now, been thinking about attempting to write a Mom Blog - one that could maybe, potentially, possibly be shared with the world rather than just my family.  I am admitting it right now - this prospect scares me crazy - but, fear should be a motivator and so since I keep thinking about it, I know I have to face my fear and give it a try.  What's the worst that could happen?  No one likes the blog, it disappears into cyberspace, and we all forget it ever happened.  Right?  Right.

So, please return here for updates on the minutae of the Kons Chaos life and go to Finding the Joy in Parenting as a place to read my attempt at humor in evaluating this chaotic life.

Bedtime Helper

We must've left the camera upstairs over the last couple of days because here are some more bedtime photos, but from this evening instead now, when Lariska helped us out by reading Declan his book while Hugo played at the train table.

Bedtime Book

 

Fun Run

Burleigh Elementary PTO does one main fundraiser each year called the Fun Run.  The kids love it because it gets them outside, they get to run, they receive a new t-shirt with the theme for the school year, and they have a snack afterwards.  I like it because it means I don't have to purchase magazines or wrapping paper or some other silly thing we don't need!

Grandma Linda went to watch the girls run again this year and I also received a photo of Kyrie's class from her teacher.

Sleeping Baby

I don't often get to see my munchkins when they are asleep, because it is my rule that you never wake a sleeping baby (or child).  Unfortunately for Hugo, this does not always work out.  The girls have lessons to get to, so if he takes his sweet time in going down for his nap then he can be assured to be rudely awakened by his Mommy wanting to load him into the minivan.  Today, he was so adorable, I grabbed the camera and took a picture of my sweet little angel - the only time my kids are angels - when they are asleep.

DecLego

I love Lego building with this boy.  We have so much fun together imagining what the Legos are doing.  Forget the dishes.  Forget the laundry.  I want to do Legos with Declan!

Oh, and here is a cute picture Declan insisted I take of him when I was taking a picture of Hugo crawling.

Apologies

I have an apology to make to any of you who donated cake mix and/or frosting at our birthday party this summer.  I had planned to take all of the kids to deliver your donations to the Menomonee Falls Food Pantry within a few days of the party.  Alas, with swim lessons everyday for four weeks, two naps a day for the baby, and various other activities, that plan somehow got squashed.  I finally made it to the Food Pantry today with Declan and Hugo...only a few months late.  Luckily, none of the mixes or tubs had expired and they were in need of donations for the Birthday Corner.  It all worked out, but I still feel bad that it took us so long.  Thank you so much for your donations - it was so much fun to celebrate our birthdays with you in this way - and I am so sorry it took us so long.

If you gave money for Scholarships for Honduran Children (Becas Con Bendiciones), please be reassured that we turned that money in the following week through our church.  Your money has hopefully been distributed and is putting students through school right now!

THANK YOU!

Shhhh!

I have a policy in this house - never wake a sleeping baby.  On number four, however, sometimes this rule is impossible not to break...either because the big kids are too loud, or more often because there is somewhere we have to be.  Poor Hugo.  If he has any trouble at all getting down for his nap on-time, he is woken up to head out the door to pick another child up.  Today, when I went in his room to get him to go get Declan from preschool he was so sound asleep that he didn't even pop awake like he normallly does.  I so rarely get to see him sleeping that I ran and grabbed the camera to take a picture of my little angel.  (The only time, in my world, that they are "angels" is when they are sleeping!)

Pumpkin Farm!

Declan's Preschool class visited the Harmann Pumpkin Farm this morning.  You know, Declan can be a real handful sometimes, but he sure is fun to be around.  We had a fantastic time visiting the animals, learning about chicks, and taking a hayride.  At the end we got to pick out our pumpkins (even I got one).  The best part?  The bus ride, of course!