First Day of School

Months ago, Kylie started talking to Steve and I about going to school. She would talk about riding the bus, and getting a backpack, and going to school and seeing her friends. She would tell me how I would miss her, but that I would be okay. She would bring this up over and over. Kylie wants to go to school, etc.... After she kept bringing up school, I decided to check into a school setting that might be good to try. I found that the local Montessori school had a toddler program. Steve and I took Kylie for a tour of the school, and she met her class, and it was decided that starting in February Kylie would begin attending. She was so happy! She will be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30am until 11:30am. Kylie helped me order her backpack, we even got her name put on the back in white letters.

Last night she helped me pack her backpack with all of the required items - diapers and wipes, crayons, watercolor paint, glue and kids scissors. First thing when Kylie got up she asked if today she was going to school. I was a little concerned that her school might not be open, we got quite a lot of snow last night. I called, and they were, so we got her ready. Of course she wanted to head out about 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time, but we used that time to take a couple of pictures..

Ready to head out of the door. Is her enthusiasm obvious?

When we pulled onto the street that her school is located on, she asked me - "Mom, is this where Kylie's school is?". I told her yes, then she replied "Yay Mom, I love it!". As I dropped her off, I started to wonder - where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday she was a baby, and now I am dropping her off at school. Time really does pass by so quickly.

At school, dropping off her backpack and coat before heading to class

Four Months Doctor's Appointment

Kara had her four month doctor's appointment today, a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. She had ear infections two weeks ago, so the doctor wanted to have a follow up appointment today, and went ahead and did the four month appointment at the same time. Her stats are as follows:

Height: 23 inches (20th percentile)
Weight: 10 pounds, 8.5 ounces (5th percentile)
Length for Age: 20th percentile
Head Circumference: 15.35 inches

Kara is in a 3 hour cycle. She gets fed, is awake for an hour to an hour and a half, she goes down for a nap, then wakes up in about an hour to an hour and a half, and is fed. We do this cycle throughout the day. She goes down around 7 or 8 at night, wakes up around 1am and 4am to eat. Then by 6:30 or 7 she is awake for the day. I wish she took longer naps, and didn't wake during the night but since she doesn't eat a lot still, she has to wake up more frequently. She will start on cereal twice a day now, in hopes that will help her put on more weight.

At this stage of life Kara -
* Likes to play on the floor under her little "jungle". She will swat at her animals for over an hour, talking away to them.
* She enjoys Daddy carrying her around in her Baby Bjorn when he gets home.
* Smiles when I get her out of her crib in the morning.
* Makes a poopy diaper every other day.
* Likes to suck on her binky when going down for a nap. The doctor says that by six months I will need to end this habit...which will be sad for me..
* Has very little hair on her head, which I am guessing will continue to be the case until she's around 2 years old, just like Kylie
* Giggles if I tickle her tummy
* Still has some cradle cap, which I work on removing all of the time, but it takes its time in disappearing.

I love this little gal to pieces, I really do. She is so laid back. Her personality is coming out more, which is fun to watch. I'm so grateful that she is happy and healthy and strong.

Christmas 2010

This Christmas we had a special treat, family came to stay with us! We had so much fun! Steve's brother Ben and his wife Suz came, as well as Steve's sister Betsy. We had a lot of fun playing around the house, going out to eat, and just enjoying each other's company.

Kylie really enjoyed sledding with Aunt Suz and Uncle Ben.

Hanging out with Aunt Betsy on Kylie's bunk beds.

On Christmas Eve, we headed down to Sarah and Danny's house to meet up with the rest of the family. We spent the next couple of days eating delicious food, playing games and sledding.

While there are many things we are grateful for at Christmas time, we are especially grateful for our girls.

Merry Christmas!

Five Year Anniversary

On December 23rd Steve and I celebrated our five year wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe that we have been married five years. I still remember the day we got married so well. I remember that I couldn't stop smiling, I was so happy. I also felt like it wasn't real in some aspects, that it was too good to be true. I had always wanted to be married, but there were so many times in my life, I just wasn't sure if that dream would ever be realized. What a blessing that Steve came along; and he still makes things that seemed like a dream, become reality. My cup runneth over. Love that guy!

Lasik Surgery

On Friday Steve had Lasik Surgery on his eyes. He was so excited to have this surgery, and let's face it, I was too. No more waking me up in the middle of the night to find out what time it was. No more fiddling for his glasses first thing in the morning. No more contacts that itch and bother his eyes.

He decided to have the surgery at an eye center in Rockford, IL. The surgeon there actually participated in the original FDA study on Laser Vision Correction, and Steve had a colleague that highly recommended the facility. So, we headed down on Friday, dropped the kids off at Steve's sister's house (who conveniently lives in Rockford), and had his initial consultation. He found out that his eyes were the right thickness for the surgery, and set up the surgery time for that afternoon at 1pm. The surgery lasted about ten minutes all in all, but we were at the doctor's office most of the afternoon, with recovery and such. Steve was in a bit of pain after the surgery, his eyes were burning. After a few good hours of sleep, they felt better. The following morning his eyes felt significantly better, no pain at all, and by the time of his 8am follow up visit, his vision is now 20/20.

He is so glad he did the surgery, and I am tickled pink that eye glasses, contact lenses, contact lense solution and his vision headaches are in the past. What a way to start 2011!

The New Bedroom Downstairs

When we moved into our new home, Steve and I decided it would be nice to add a fourth bedroom downstairs, in the unfinished part of our basement. It wasn't high on the priority list, though. We had other improvements that were more important. At the end of June of this year, those improvements had been completed, and we made the decision to move forward with adding the new bedroom downstairs.

Since I was pregnant, I couldn't really help much with this project. Steve drew out the floorplan of the new room, and got to work framing, insulating and sheetrocking (along with Danny's help). He also wired the new room, and did all the ductwork, so the room is heated and cooled. A contractor completed the mudding and texturing of the walls. A fresh coat of paint and new carpet finished the project. Of course, this provided me an excellent opportunity to go shopping to decorate the new room. Below is the finished product. It was completed about two weeks before Kara came, which was perfect timing so when family came to visit after her birth, they had a new room to stay in. I am so proud of my handy husband!

Two Months Old

Last Wednesday Kara Grace was two months old. I really cannot even believe how quickly the time has flown by since her birth. She has grown up so much, so quickly.

Some of the things I love about this little gal:
-Goes to bed between 9:30 and 10:30, wakes up between 2 and 4 for a feeding, then back to sleep until 5 or 6
-Will sleep pretty much anywhere for her naps, though her bed is the least preferred spot to sleep (we are working on this one...)
-Smiles and coos now
-Very patient with Kylie, as her big sister gives her lots of attention
-Laid back personality
-Snuggly little thing she is
We will forever be grateful for this little girl coming into our lives. I am addicted to kissing and loving on her, and when she wakes up from her naps, I feel like I missed spending time with her while she was sleeping. This Christmas season, as I am pondering all of our blessings, Kara Grace is at the top of the list (along with Kylie, of course). We love you Kara!

Six Week Stats

On Friday, November 19th, our Kara Grace was six week's old. Today she went to the doctor for her checkup. Below are her stats.

Weight: 7 lbs. 9 ozs. - < 5th percentile
Length: 51 cm. - 5th percentile
Head Circumference: 36 in. - 5th percentile

Kara has become a very happy, mellow infant, who just a few days ago started smiling at Mommy. Yay!! She likes to hang out in her nap nappy when she's awake, and if she gets fussy a pacifier is usually all it takes to soothe her. She sleeps from 10pm or so until between 5am and 7am, depending on the day. She wakes up every 3 hours during the night to feed. It seems like no matter what time she eats, she sleeps from 8am to 10am and from 2pm to 4pm. That said, some days are totally different than her normal schedule. For instance, last night she almost woke up every hour....sadly....

As time goes on I am sure Kara's personality will come out more, which I can't wait for. So far, I am relishing our snuggle moments, her sweet smile, and serene nature. She is our little jewel.

Halloween 2010

This year for Halloween Kylie was a dalmation (Spot) and Kara went as herself. She had a costume, but it was too small...When I planned for her costume, I didn't know she would be so small... Here we are before we left for the Trunk or Treat at church

Kylie as Spot. Kylie won second place in the costume contest at the Trunk or Treat.

Introducing Kara Grace O'Brien

On the morning of October 8, 2010, we left for the hospital at 4:45am so that we could be at the hospital (West Allis Memorial) at 5:30am. I didn't sleep much the night before, a little anxious for what lied ahead, combined with the uncomfortableness of pregnancy. Mom had arrived from North Carolina the day before, so she was able to come with Steve and I to the hospital. Kylie stayed at home with her Aunt Sarah and Uncle Danny, and cousins Jackson and Parker. Here I am in the triage room, before the process got started.

At 7:54am our baby Kara Grace was born. She weighed 5 lbs. 12 oz's. We were surprised with her petite size, but she is just perfect!

She is a joy to have, and gets lots of kisses and hugs from Big Sister Kylie. Kylie loves to hold Kara and is such a loving sister. She has impressed us with her capacity to embrace Kara, and we can't imagine our lives without these two girls.

Future Baker

I left Kylie unoccupied for what I thought was just a second, and I come in the kitchen to find that she had decided to go exploring in the pantry. She had obviously taken handfuls of flour and tossed it all around her, on her clothes, and for some reason, on her cheeks. She was a little too busy to notice I was standing there, but when she saw the flash...

She gave me a big grin...


I think she definitely knows her way around the kitchen.. And did I mention this is the second time she has done this...

Snow Day

Last Monday night, around midnight, it started snowing. The next day it snowed all day. We got about a foot and a half of snow, which meant Steve got to leave work early on Tuesday around 3pm, so that he could get home safely in the daylight. After he got home, he tied a rope to Kylie's snow tube, and pulled her around the yard, much to her delight. Below are a few pictures of the event

Christmas 2009

For Christmas this year, we traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to be with Tamara's family. We were there for a little over a week, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon, and began our week of relaxation. It was so nice to be able to go to church with family, and have a little help with Kylie during Sacrament Meeting. She is so active these days, she keeps us busy.




On Wednesday, December 23rd, we took Kylie to the Charlotte Nature Museum. This museum focuses on nature-based learning, in a fun atmosphere.

Kylie got to see a snake up close

and an owl

There is also a butterfly exhibit at the Nature Mesuem. To our delight, as soon as we entered the exhibit, a butterfly landed on Kylie. We coached her to hold still, and just watch the butterfly. She did such a good job.

It landed on her shoulder

And then came in for a closer look

We also got to see a turle eat his lunch

The museum put on a puppet show that was about 15 minutes long (which is perfect) on bears hibernating during the winter. It incorporated Christmas and Santa into the show, which was pretty creative if you ask me.

The bear decided to wake up during the winter so he wouldn't miss Christmas (this was upon the advice of his friend Beaver).

Later on that afternoon, Steve and I snuck away for an overnight trip to celebrate our four year wedding anniversary. Dad and Mom watched Kylie for us, which we greatly appreciated. We stayed at the Westin Hotel, in downtown Charlotte (which locals refer to as Uptown). Upon checking in, we were informed that we had been upgraded to the Presidential Suite. As we went to our room, we had to take pictures, since we figured we would never stay in such a nice suite again.

To explain, when you walked in the marble foyer upon entering our rooms, there was a room to the left, which was the bedroom. It had views of downtown Charlotte, which was beautiful if you opened all of the curtains.

To the right of the entry was an entertaining room, with sofas and a big screen. This made Steve very happy. Which made me happy.

The bathroom attached to the bedroom had a wonderful jacuzzi tub, which was like heaven.

The bedroom



The bathroom

Entertaining Room

We walked to dinner that night, our restaurant (Ruth's Chris Steakhouse) was only about 10 minutes away from our hotel. We went by an outdoor ice skating rink, and got to watch people skating for a few minutes, that was so fun. We had a momentous anniversary, and I can't believe four years has went by so fast.

This Christmas, Kylie really got into opening gifts. She opened her own gifts and everyone else's too. Here are a few pictures:

Enjoying the fire with Aunt Julie Anna

On Saturday we went to Ray's Splash Planet, which is a kid-geared water park. Kylie wasn't really into going down the slides, but she enjoyed playing around as long as someone was holding her.

Having fun with Dad

and Mom

and Grandma Rosie

Saturday night Ben and Susannah came up from Columbia to hang out. We went on a double date, to a restaurant called Firebirds. Delicious! Before we left, Kylie enjoyed playing around with Uncle Ben a lot.

We truly had a Merry Christmas

Snow Adventures

This past week we had a snow storm, and got about 10" of snow. On Saturday Steve took Kylie out to play in it. This is the first time that Kylie has really been able to experience a lot of snow, since last year she was only about six months old or so when it was winter. She enjoyed exploring the snow on the back deck while I blew up the sledding tube (I guess that's what you call it) inside.

The snow can be hard to walk in.

At the top of the hill in our back yard, ready to go.
She insisted on going by herself, such a brave little gal.

Whee!!



At the bottom of the hill, waiting for Daddy to come pull her back up again.

That $20 tube was money well spent!