I had one. A birthday. Whatever. I got chocolate chocolate cake and that's all that matters.
This week has been super busy. Kelly and I have been preparing for a huge youth group event on Sunday. Our youth group hosts a dinner each year to thank the senior members of our church for their support of the youth. There is always a theme, dinner, and entertainment. This year the kids chose "broadway" as the theme. All of broadway. Each of them will come dressed as a character from a broadway show. Each table will be decorated like a different broadway show. We are having some dancing and singing from some shows, and we (the youth group and advisors) will be the dancers and/or singers. I am not a good dancer or singer. I am not excited about this part.
Today, Kelly and I shopped for food for 75-80 people, including the youth group. We haven't had this many people in years. It's exciting, but expensive! I couldn't believe how much we spent! We did have some really good helpers, her youngest son, who is a few months younger than Karina, and Karina. They started out in the cart together, but then we needed a second cart, and Karina, my shy girl, was ready to be alone in a cart. I was proud of her, though, because she lasted a good half hour with her little cart buddy.
It was also Kelly's birthday today (happy birthday wonderful friend!!). We were going to get frostys from Wendy's but we forgot! I was so bummed...we're getting them on Sunday instead.
I wasn't sure I was going to dress up, because I really wanted to be Christine Daae from "The Phantom of the Opera" (my favorite), but it was hard to find a costume. I guess they don't make long white/cream robes anymore. I was going to get one and add lace to it. Instead, I ended up making it from scratch. Somehow, I managed to do it and it doesn't look like a piece of garbage. I'm pretty happy about that.
Sunday I'll be down at church all day, starting at 830, setting up and starting the food cooking. I'm pretty excited, though. I have done a lot of work for this one, including creating fake playbills for each show, and posters showcasing each of the youth members as their character. I really hope it all ends up looking as good as we hope and that it turns out to be a big success.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
A Day in the Park
We were supposed to have a randomly warm day today, in the 70s. Well, it didn't quite make it that high, but it was fairly nice this morning. Since it was also a holiday and Bill was off work, we decided to take Karina to the park. She was so excited! Every time she sees a photo with a playground in it, she gets excited and points it out to me. So when I told her this morning that we were going to a playground, she was ready to go!
She gets pretty distracted by her books, but once I tore her away from them, we headed out. When we pulled into the parking lot, she started squealing and giggling. Then when we walked over to the playground, she was holding my hand and pointing and smiling. We went right up to the equipment and climbed up together. This particular playground has one large jungle gym with a tall swirly slide, a medium sized bumpy slide, a slightly smaller tube slide, and a very small slide that makes a short curve. That one is shorter than me, only about three or four steps up to get to it.
The first thing Karina wanted to do was go down the bumpy slide, but she absolutely had to have me go down with her. Down we went and she was very happy. The second time I made her go down on her own, and Bill waited for her at the bottom. Actually, he held her hand from the top down. She went so fast, and she loved it! We wandered around for a minute, and she seemed to not know what she wanted to do. I finally convinced her to try the smallest slide, because she has enjoyed that one in the past. I wasn't prepared for just how much she would love it! She must have gone down that slide 50 times. It was nice because I could just stand next to it, and Bill was able to take pictures (I of course left my camera in the car, so who knows when I'll ever see these pictures). Finally she decided she wanted to go on the swings.
She doesn't really like the swings, so I don't know why she always asks to go on them. She only lasts a few swings and then she wants to get down. I think she doesn't like the motion of it. So, after swinging for about 10 seconds, she was done. Now she was ready to try another slide. This time she wanted to go on the biggest one, the swirly slide. For this one, you have to go up about 8-10 steps to one platform, and then up about 5 more steps to get to the top of the swirly slide. The first few times she went down with me, but she was trying to go down before I was ready so finally, I just let her go. She did great! She held on to the side of it as she went down, so she didn't lose her balance. Her sneakers kept her from going too fast. She was so excited! She probably went down that slide about 20 times before finally she was just getting so tired we were afraid she was going to get hurt. Plus, the playground was getting really packed. All the bigger kids were really really patient and nice. None of them got upset if they had to wait for Karina to go down in front of them. One boy was playing some game and had kind of hidden up at the top of the swirly slide, so when Karina wanted to go down, he got right down. He was really gracious, too, and didn't even mind at all. I didn't even have to ask him to move or ask Karina to wait her turn, which is what I usually do. It was just such a perfect morning.
After the playground, we did walk over to see the dog park, but there weren't many dogs out, so we just found a table and had lunch. Karina was afraid of the tree roots on the ground, which was kind of weird, but not so much for her. She freaks out if leaves get in her way. We had a nice lunch, hit the grocery store, and went home for her to take a nice nap.
What a great day.
She gets pretty distracted by her books, but once I tore her away from them, we headed out. When we pulled into the parking lot, she started squealing and giggling. Then when we walked over to the playground, she was holding my hand and pointing and smiling. We went right up to the equipment and climbed up together. This particular playground has one large jungle gym with a tall swirly slide, a medium sized bumpy slide, a slightly smaller tube slide, and a very small slide that makes a short curve. That one is shorter than me, only about three or four steps up to get to it.
The first thing Karina wanted to do was go down the bumpy slide, but she absolutely had to have me go down with her. Down we went and she was very happy. The second time I made her go down on her own, and Bill waited for her at the bottom. Actually, he held her hand from the top down. She went so fast, and she loved it! We wandered around for a minute, and she seemed to not know what she wanted to do. I finally convinced her to try the smallest slide, because she has enjoyed that one in the past. I wasn't prepared for just how much she would love it! She must have gone down that slide 50 times. It was nice because I could just stand next to it, and Bill was able to take pictures (I of course left my camera in the car, so who knows when I'll ever see these pictures). Finally she decided she wanted to go on the swings.
She doesn't really like the swings, so I don't know why she always asks to go on them. She only lasts a few swings and then she wants to get down. I think she doesn't like the motion of it. So, after swinging for about 10 seconds, she was done. Now she was ready to try another slide. This time she wanted to go on the biggest one, the swirly slide. For this one, you have to go up about 8-10 steps to one platform, and then up about 5 more steps to get to the top of the swirly slide. The first few times she went down with me, but she was trying to go down before I was ready so finally, I just let her go. She did great! She held on to the side of it as she went down, so she didn't lose her balance. Her sneakers kept her from going too fast. She was so excited! She probably went down that slide about 20 times before finally she was just getting so tired we were afraid she was going to get hurt. Plus, the playground was getting really packed. All the bigger kids were really really patient and nice. None of them got upset if they had to wait for Karina to go down in front of them. One boy was playing some game and had kind of hidden up at the top of the swirly slide, so when Karina wanted to go down, he got right down. He was really gracious, too, and didn't even mind at all. I didn't even have to ask him to move or ask Karina to wait her turn, which is what I usually do. It was just such a perfect morning.
After the playground, we did walk over to see the dog park, but there weren't many dogs out, so we just found a table and had lunch. Karina was afraid of the tree roots on the ground, which was kind of weird, but not so much for her. She freaks out if leaves get in her way. We had a nice lunch, hit the grocery store, and went home for her to take a nice nap.
What a great day.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Playing Outside
The weather was really nice today, so after Karina's nap we went outside to play. We didn't even need jackets, it was great! Typical February warm spell for our area. Karina was so ecstatic over playing outside that she was running in and out of the porch, all over the yard, and in and out of the back yard through the gate. She had three sippy cups of water with her, because she brought two out with her and then Bill came out and brought her another one. She had them sliding down the slide, and set up on the little stepping stone things just outside our gate. She was ordering me and Bill around, and I was insisting on her using the words, "Mama out" or "Mama sit" or whatever. I want her to start putting words together, instead of just having single words to say what she wants. She did give it a good try, but when we don't remind her, she doesn't do it.
We had such a great time playing outside and then the evening was perfected for her (not me) when she got to see Sesame Street. Boy, when Abby Cadabby came on, she just squealed and pointed at the television! A very nice evening all around!
We had such a great time playing outside and then the evening was perfected for her (not me) when she got to see Sesame Street. Boy, when Abby Cadabby came on, she just squealed and pointed at the television! A very nice evening all around!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
She is Silly
Tonight, Karina was just a silly, goofy mess! We went to my mom's for dinner, and the whole time it was cooking, she was tearing around the house, hollering, "Daw daw! Daw daw!" which means dog. Then she got my grandmother's canes out and was playing with them. One cane became her "baby". Then she put the canes and a toy broom into her booster seat and buckled them in. She took off her shoes and socks and then put her shoes on. She climbed in and out of the chair. She chased the dog so she could hug him. She pulled the books off the shelf. She used the can to dump out all the plastic containers from the cabinet (I got on her about that, though, and made her put them all back). Most of it was just hyper playing. She was a mess! So funny. She ate her dinner pretty well, and then insisted on having her two new books read to her about 50 times! She got Valentine's Day presents today from her grandmother and mine. My grandmother gave her two short little pop-up books, one about Oscar the Grouch and the other was baby Looney Tunes. She doesn't know who they are, but she liked the colorful pictures.
By the time we got home, she was ready to go in her room and have some books read to her quietly. She loves the new library books we got yesterday. One is called "Dog's Day" and it has really colorful pictures on each page. The dog tells what he does all day, one thing at a time. So the first page says he swings on branches with monkey. Karina knows dogs can't swing from branches, so it's funny. Then he does other things, like change colors with chameleon, and fly through the clouds with bird. At the end, you see he's a puppy and he's been imagining all these things with his toys. He finishes up saying his favorite thing is to play with his daddy. It's very cute. She really loves it. We also got another book about a dog named Widget. We had checked out one once before, about Widget and a puppy, but we didn't know there was a story of how Widget came to live where he does. So she likes that one, too. She loves her books, and just must take them to bed with her at night. She cuddles them like most kids do stuffed animals!
My girl. So silly in so many ways, but what a happy girl she is! She makes me happy, too!
By the time we got home, she was ready to go in her room and have some books read to her quietly. She loves the new library books we got yesterday. One is called "Dog's Day" and it has really colorful pictures on each page. The dog tells what he does all day, one thing at a time. So the first page says he swings on branches with monkey. Karina knows dogs can't swing from branches, so it's funny. Then he does other things, like change colors with chameleon, and fly through the clouds with bird. At the end, you see he's a puppy and he's been imagining all these things with his toys. He finishes up saying his favorite thing is to play with his daddy. It's very cute. She really loves it. We also got another book about a dog named Widget. We had checked out one once before, about Widget and a puppy, but we didn't know there was a story of how Widget came to live where he does. So she likes that one, too. She loves her books, and just must take them to bed with her at night. She cuddles them like most kids do stuffed animals!
My girl. So silly in so many ways, but what a happy girl she is! She makes me happy, too!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Toddler Bed!
We put up Karina's toddler bed today! I've been really torn about when to do it, mainly because I didn't really want to...my baby growing up and all. But I realized that she was really ready. So I made her a quilt to go on her new Big Girl Bed, and once I finished it, there was no reason to wait anymore. We were going to do it tomorrow, Saturday, but I like to have some time to myself in the morning and I wanted to make the switch early so she could get used to it. We took her crib apart so we could get it out the door. She didn't even seem to care. Then we brought in the bed and she wanted to climb on it before we even got the mattress back on! As soon as the mattress was on, she was on the bed. She was SO excited! I did a little rearranging in her room, and we spent most of the day in her bedroom so she could really get used to it. After lunch, I was nervous about what she would do at naptime, but she was awesome. I told her that naptime is for sleeping, and that's what she needs to do, lie in her big girl bed and go to sleep, and she did! Same at bedtime, but it was so cute, she started laughing that she was getting in the bed to go to sleep. She just loves that she's a big girl in her bed now! She wanted the quilt on her to cover her, which is new--usually she doesn't want anything on and I would put these two little fleecy blankets on her in the crib to keep her warm. I was happy that she wanted the quilt on. She is very quiet right now (at 9pm) so that's a good sign.
We've also been dealing with a horrific diaper rash. The poor thing, when she woke up from her nap, I put stuff on it, and she started crying! I left her out of her diaper all afternoon, except for dinner, and she only had one accident! I was pretty impressed. I do believe potty training is right around the corner for us (but that was not at all my goal today--just trying to get this rash healed up). When Karina does get rashes (even kids in cloth can get them, and Karina has extremely sensitive skin), they tend to be pretty bad ones. Fortunately, she doesn't get them too often. I think this one is caused in part by her eating a lot of oranges lately. But who knows.
It's just been a really good day!
OH, and I also asked her what some letters of the alphabet were, by pointing to them today, and she knew about a third of them (random ones, like O). She also knew K, and knew that K is for Karina. That was pretty awesome. She just amazes me every day and I am so lucky to be her mom.
We've also been dealing with a horrific diaper rash. The poor thing, when she woke up from her nap, I put stuff on it, and she started crying! I left her out of her diaper all afternoon, except for dinner, and she only had one accident! I was pretty impressed. I do believe potty training is right around the corner for us (but that was not at all my goal today--just trying to get this rash healed up). When Karina does get rashes (even kids in cloth can get them, and Karina has extremely sensitive skin), they tend to be pretty bad ones. Fortunately, she doesn't get them too often. I think this one is caused in part by her eating a lot of oranges lately. But who knows.
It's just been a really good day!
OH, and I also asked her what some letters of the alphabet were, by pointing to them today, and she knew about a third of them (random ones, like O). She also knew K, and knew that K is for Karina. That was pretty awesome. She just amazes me every day and I am so lucky to be her mom.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Short story today
My story for today is very short. I will warn you, it involves mention of poop. So if that bothers you, you should stop reading, although it's not really anything gross.
Today while we were watching the Puppy Bowl, I noticed an odor. As I usually do now, I asked her, "Karina, did you poop in your diaper?" She said no, but when I checked, she obviously had. So I asked her, "Who pooped in your diaper?" She said, "Mama!" I told her I didn't do it and she said, "Dada!". He wasn't even home. She knew she was making it up, and she knew it was funny because she was laughing when she said it. It was so silly, and we both laughed about it.
Today while we were watching the Puppy Bowl, I noticed an odor. As I usually do now, I asked her, "Karina, did you poop in your diaper?" She said no, but when I checked, she obviously had. So I asked her, "Who pooped in your diaper?" She said, "Mama!" I told her I didn't do it and she said, "Dada!". He wasn't even home. She knew she was making it up, and she knew it was funny because she was laughing when she said it. It was so silly, and we both laughed about it.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Bowling
Today we all went to my friend's daughter's birthday party. Maddy* turned 6 and had a bowling party. Karina and three other little kids were there, as well as about 6 or so of Maddy's friends her age. There were three lanes for us, so the little ones got their own lane with one of those bowling helper ramp things. Ever seen them? It's a big ramp made of poles basically that you put the ball on and the child can just push the ball down. You can easily move the ramp around to 'aim' where you want it. It makes it so that you don't even have to worry about the weight of the ball, because you're carrying it, not the child.
When we got there, Karina was overwhelmed, as she usually is in new situations. We said hello to the birthday girl, who was pretty excited and full of energy. She and her friends were really eager to get started bowling. We checked on bowling shoes and were told Karina was so little she could just use her tennis shoes. They got the ramp in place, got all the names listed, and we were set. Karina was first and was really unsure about what we were doing. She had to be held and was watching the few other bowlers and kept saying, "Ball! Ball! Ball! Bang! Bang! Bang!" She was kind of upset about it all. I took her up to the ramp, and she wasn't sure she wanted to push the ball. Bill and I coaxed her gently and when the ball rolled down the lane and knocked down some pins, she was really upset. She didn't cry, but she had this pained expression and was practically yelling, "Bang!" When the pins fell over, we clapped and cheered for her, and for the second roll, she was ready to push the ball. But I could not call it "bowling". I had to call it "pushing the ball". She did not want to bowl. She wanted to push the ball.
The next few turns, she was happy and excited. She loved watching the ball come back up the chute. She loved watching other people bowl. Lunch arrived and she ate almost nothing, not even the french fries. I hoped that sitting with another little girl, Elise*, would encourage her to eat, but no luck today. Elise is only about 6 months older than Karina. She has an older sister and a younger brother on the way. Elise is absolutely adorable. But I digress. (It's hard not to when talking about her. She is an absolute DOLL.)
After lunch, we continue bowling. It took the kids a while to get through the first game, simply because they're all so little. Next, we had cupcakes and ice cream. Karina loved the icing on the cupcakes, and was trying to eat it with her spoon. Then the cupcake fell over and she started crying. She was really tired at that point! I told her to just eat it with her fingers, and she did and that was okay. Then she ate some of the ice cream. Then we finished up the game. Karina got a strike! I couldn't believe it! It was on the 10th frame. She wound up scoring 98, the highest score of all the kids, big and little! It was all luck, but I was still proud of her. She was followed closely by Oliver* who got 94. He did it with more than just luck. He's a pretty athletic little kid. He definitely had a little skill involved in his score.
The bigger kids were ready to bowl another game, but most of the little ones were ready to go home. Maddy opened her presents and we said goodbye to everyone. I figured Karina would fall asleep in the car, but she didn't. Poor baby, she stayed awake (it is about 35 minutes from our house to my friend's house and area) and told me she was hungry. She wanted some cheese. I assured her she could have cheese when we got home, and that's what we did. Cheese and cracker and blueberry muffins. Then she went down for her nap around 2, which wasn't too bad. She slept for her usual 2 hours and woke up pretty happy. I was worried that the day would be all out of whack, but it wasn't at all. Everything went great, Karina was a trooper, and overall, it was a wonderful day!
The one bad thing was: I forgot to take pictures of her bowling!!! I know, can you even believe it? I do have a picture of the scoreboard, but I have to edit it before I can post it so the kids' names don't show, but I have none of Karina actually bowling. I could have kicked myself. And Bill was there! Bill, my camera-happy, photo-obsessed husband, also did not take a single picture. What is wrong with us??
*Names have been changed because I don't have permission from their moms to use their names on here.
When we got there, Karina was overwhelmed, as she usually is in new situations. We said hello to the birthday girl, who was pretty excited and full of energy. She and her friends were really eager to get started bowling. We checked on bowling shoes and were told Karina was so little she could just use her tennis shoes. They got the ramp in place, got all the names listed, and we were set. Karina was first and was really unsure about what we were doing. She had to be held and was watching the few other bowlers and kept saying, "Ball! Ball! Ball! Bang! Bang! Bang!" She was kind of upset about it all. I took her up to the ramp, and she wasn't sure she wanted to push the ball. Bill and I coaxed her gently and when the ball rolled down the lane and knocked down some pins, she was really upset. She didn't cry, but she had this pained expression and was practically yelling, "Bang!" When the pins fell over, we clapped and cheered for her, and for the second roll, she was ready to push the ball. But I could not call it "bowling". I had to call it "pushing the ball". She did not want to bowl. She wanted to push the ball.
The next few turns, she was happy and excited. She loved watching the ball come back up the chute. She loved watching other people bowl. Lunch arrived and she ate almost nothing, not even the french fries. I hoped that sitting with another little girl, Elise*, would encourage her to eat, but no luck today. Elise is only about 6 months older than Karina. She has an older sister and a younger brother on the way. Elise is absolutely adorable. But I digress. (It's hard not to when talking about her. She is an absolute DOLL.)
After lunch, we continue bowling. It took the kids a while to get through the first game, simply because they're all so little. Next, we had cupcakes and ice cream. Karina loved the icing on the cupcakes, and was trying to eat it with her spoon. Then the cupcake fell over and she started crying. She was really tired at that point! I told her to just eat it with her fingers, and she did and that was okay. Then she ate some of the ice cream. Then we finished up the game. Karina got a strike! I couldn't believe it! It was on the 10th frame. She wound up scoring 98, the highest score of all the kids, big and little! It was all luck, but I was still proud of her. She was followed closely by Oliver* who got 94. He did it with more than just luck. He's a pretty athletic little kid. He definitely had a little skill involved in his score.
The bigger kids were ready to bowl another game, but most of the little ones were ready to go home. Maddy opened her presents and we said goodbye to everyone. I figured Karina would fall asleep in the car, but she didn't. Poor baby, she stayed awake (it is about 35 minutes from our house to my friend's house and area) and told me she was hungry. She wanted some cheese. I assured her she could have cheese when we got home, and that's what we did. Cheese and cracker and blueberry muffins. Then she went down for her nap around 2, which wasn't too bad. She slept for her usual 2 hours and woke up pretty happy. I was worried that the day would be all out of whack, but it wasn't at all. Everything went great, Karina was a trooper, and overall, it was a wonderful day!
The one bad thing was: I forgot to take pictures of her bowling!!! I know, can you even believe it? I do have a picture of the scoreboard, but I have to edit it before I can post it so the kids' names don't show, but I have none of Karina actually bowling. I could have kicked myself. And Bill was there! Bill, my camera-happy, photo-obsessed husband, also did not take a single picture. What is wrong with us??
*Names have been changed because I don't have permission from their moms to use their names on here.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Fun at Musikgarten and a New Word
Today is our Musikgarten class day. Every Wednesday morning we go to our class with Linda, our teacher. She's great. Karina loves it. There are quite a few kids in our class this time. Last semester there were just three girls including Karina! Now there are the same girls plus 3-4 boys, depending on who shows up.
Each time, Linda asks if any of the children want to say or sing the patterns by themselves. This is a big step towards real music understanding (and studies show music helps kids learn other things, too!). All the kids in the class are around Karina's age, 2 or 3 years old. So repeating the patterns is a big deal for them if they choose to try.
Today, for the first time, Karina tried the patterns by herself! I was so excited. She did a great job but was so shy about it she kept hiding her face and trying to roll over on her stomach in my lap!
Then on our way home, she said a new word, mailman, which she has never said before. The best part was she said it with no prompting from me at all. She saw his truck in the street and pointed to it and said, "mailman". It was so great, and I was so proud of her!
Each time, Linda asks if any of the children want to say or sing the patterns by themselves. This is a big step towards real music understanding (and studies show music helps kids learn other things, too!). All the kids in the class are around Karina's age, 2 or 3 years old. So repeating the patterns is a big deal for them if they choose to try.
Today, for the first time, Karina tried the patterns by herself! I was so excited. She did a great job but was so shy about it she kept hiding her face and trying to roll over on her stomach in my lap!
Then on our way home, she said a new word, mailman, which she has never said before. The best part was she said it with no prompting from me at all. She saw his truck in the street and pointed to it and said, "mailman". It was so great, and I was so proud of her!
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