berry picking - raspberry style

spent a lovely morning with these cute kids again...

 picking plump, red, ripe raspberries off the vines. 

i'm seriously in love with the u-pick farms here. we may or may not have eaten a few as we sauntered along and i had hilarious conversations with mr. e about important things like belts. 

i forgot the bjorn so kate hung out in her car seat at the end of a row and passersby asked if they could pick her and take her home. 

for the record, the answer was no. she's all mine.

a good thing?

I did something today that I hoped I'd never have to do. One of those things that's good, but it's bad that it's good because I just plain don't like it. 

I installed a bed rail on Leah's bed. 

Leah's cute, white, quilt-laden bed...now ruined by some dumb hospital-looking apparatus. 

I know it shouldn't be a big deal. But Leah's five. I shouldn't need to put a bed rail on my five year old's bed when she's not a rambunctious sleeper. I had to put it on her bed to keep her safe if she has a seizure. Or if she gets tangled in her sheets and can't safely get out. So I don't have to wake from a deep sleep by a thud coming from the next room. A thud that I know hurts way more than she ever lets on. 

And so I did it. 

Leah, so far, doesn't seem to mind. In fact, she thought it was hilarious to continually climb on the bed this afternoon as I struggled to tuck in the sheets around the new structure. To be honest, I hope she never minds. I hope she is relieved that she doesn't have to worry about falling out of her bed ever again. And I hope she knows I did it because I love her. 

It's a good thing. It is. But I still don't like it.

brave

I'm not sure if it's pure insanity from being "alone" all day, the need to get out and do something or our previous success at Leah's first movie theater experience, but I decided to be brave and go see the new movie Brave with my friend Tiffany and her three cute kids. 

It wasn't playing in the theater nearby, so we drove a half hour away {but that is an activity in and of itself, so...score!}. All five of the kids slept on the way there. It was a Christmas-in-July Miracle!

When we got there, we had a few minutes to spare, so the kids went off and played the arcade games. And when I say "played" you know I really mean held onto the steering wheel and pretended that the cars moving on the screen actually had something to do with them. I love how Miss M just grabs Leah by the hand and plays like there is nothing different about her at all. I truly do. 

The kids liked the movie and, although it was scary at parts, I think it will cure any child living nearby of their idea that the having the Sachem Bear around is a good idea. 

Leah enjoyed her second theater visit and Kate her first. Yes, she slept the entire time {even when Mr. R spilled his drink on her}.

p.s. If you're wondering how the three cute kids on the right in the group picture can get so tan in New Hampshire, the answer is: they can't. You do it by visiting family in Arizona for a month. If you stay in New Hampshire, you stay glowing white like me. 

ktg: 2 months

I'm not sure where the time has gone, but my tiny ktg is two months already - and really, she's not so tiny either. 

This month brought a visit from that guy who used to live here but now usually lives in the screen of mom's phone. That was a good week, albeit too short. It also brought quite a few more tears. Our calm and quiet Kateapotamus did some serious waking up and I don't think she was very happy about it. She really really loves attention, but sometimes even attention won't do the trick. And I'm pretty much a one man show over here...with not many tricks up my sleeve. So...Kate does a lot of crying. I love when Leah walks over to her swing or bouncer, looks down at her with a look of complete disgust and then looks up at me as if to say, "Seriously mom. Can't you just make her stop?"

Before we write Kate off as a big cry baby, we should also note that this month brought a lot of smiling! She started around 5 weeks and has seriously perfected it. She is also starting to find her voice and I could talk to her for hours on end. She has a very soft and serene voice and most often tests it out at night. My favorite is when I say "hi" to her, I swear to you she says hi right back. It's nothing short of fantastic. 

As for her schedule {this is mostly for me because I really wish I would have written down what Leah did!}, Kate usually eats 5-6 times a day for 15-20 minutes each time and we're just now getting on a schedule {she didn't fall into it like her sister, so I have to figure out what will work...}. She usually eats at 8am, noon, 4pm and 8pm and then once during the night, usually 2-3am. She still sleeps a ton and isn't quite on a regular napping schedule, but we're trying to keep her up after she eats for an hour or so before she goes down. And 90% of the time she's awake for a few hours in the evening, screaming. After her 8pm feeding, she is so calm and happy and chatty. It's definitely my favorite time.

Her checkup went well...except for the fact that it was her two month appointment and that means vaccinations. She really had no idea what she was in for. 

She was a happy...

...happy girl...

And then...not so much. 

She took it all in stride, though, and cuddled right into me after the evil nurse was finished {I, of course, assured her it was all the nurse's fault, not mine}.

And now for the stats:

Weight: 12 lbs. 6 oz. {she did empty her bladder right after we weighed her, but...}

Length: 22.5 inches

Head: 39 cm

No. of diapers used: 145

Diaper size: 1 {used newborn until about 5 weeks}

Clothing size: 0-3 months at beginning, just switched to 3-6 months!

Longest stretch of sleep: 9 hrs. 15 minutes. It only happened once. 

Nicknames: Kateapotamus, Kate J. Potamus, Kate-a-nakey-potamus, Katertot, Kate the Great, KTG, Kate the baby, Nakey Kate, Cry baby...

even for a week...

After three weeks in Beijing, he Mr. came home...for a week. But what a week it was! He still had to work during the day, but he came home for lunch and pretty much smothered his two littlest girls the entire time he was here - despite his pure exhaustion. 

Leah RAN into his arms when we went to pick him up from the bus stop and she couldn't stop staring at him for two full days afterward. 

We celebrated the fourth of July and went to the lake for a church party and then just like that, he was off again. This time to Illinois, India and probably Singapore for a seven week stretch until he's done. Let's just say he's got that whole packing his suitcase thing down to a science. We sure do appreciate his hard work, but oh how we wish we could be jet setters right by his side.

trouble

There's not much that I love more in my life than finding something that Leah can do on her own. Be it a skill, a toy or some type of communication, it is truly thrilling. So when Ryan and Leah came home from a trip to Target with the game Trouble in tow, I was intrigued. The dice is inside the bubble and Leah loves to hit things - it's perfect! 

I've sat down to play it with her a few times now and it's an incredible sight. She uses her hands so purposefully and almost always waits her turn to give the bubble a good whack. 

I'm not sure if the smile on her face or mine is bigger. But I do know that when she puts her mind to something, you better watch out...it's trouble...in a good way. 

p.s. She was yellow. I've still never beat her.

sunbathing without the sun

We had a great party with our ward (local church congregation) today. The plan was to bbq and play at the lake in the water and sunshine. Everything but the sunshine went as planned. 

Leah and Ryan had a great time splishing and splashing in the water.

And showing me exactly why she much prefers him to me. 

It wasn't long before the young women of the ward descended upon their favorite Miss Leah. She totally eats it up. 

Kate dressed in her best baby sunbathing attire, but decided to snooze instead. I don't blame her. 

Despite the dark skies {and a little bit of rain}, it was a beautiful day. 

We had a wonderful time and were happy to spend it with people we have grown to love so much this past year.

July 4th

"Low-key" and "Ryan home" are the two phrases with which I choose to describe our fourth of July this year. And it was fantastic. 

We walked two miles to Hanover's old fashioned celebration. We arrived just in time to wipe the sweat from our brows and watch the parade go by...and just a few minutes later it was over! 

My favorite float was the Hanover Kids Cannonball Club. Um, I only ever got to take ballet and piano lessons when I was younger. Cannonballing would have been so much cooler, not to mention more useful later in life!

 The humidity did things to my hair that shall not be further discussed.

We dressed in our best red, white and blue {only after Ryan saw my outfit and said, "I was going to wear a red shirt, but if I do, we're going to look like fools!" I reminded him we could have been wearing matching flag tees he loves so much and he decided we were good to go.}.

We ate ice cream and snow cones on the green {that's what New Englanders call a big, grassy area in the center of town, if you were wondering}.

 Kate slept.

 Leah slept.

 I watched a local men's barbershop chorus perform songs like Let Me Call You Sweetheart and almost died of happiness.

 Kate ate {yah, this is as close to a picture of that as you're getting}.

 Ryan burped.

 We grilled. And I had my bun cut New England style, thankyouverymuch.

 And we didn't watch any fireworks. They were cancelled for obvious reasons.

But, despite the lack of lights in the sky, we had a fantastic day celebrating and being grateful for our independence and togetherness as a family of four again.

ktg the roller

Kate the great is one determined little girl. For the most part she likes tummy time. But if she doesn't, she takes matters into her own hands. It's the only time she'll roll, but she's done it more than a handful of times now. See for yourself...

Must. 

Roll. 

Over. 

Almost. 

There!