Kate's Bed Time Routine

Tonight I'm just blogging everyday memories so that we can enjoy them later. Nothing too exciting.
Kate has a definite bedtime routine that must be followed with exactness if you wish to execute the "no-cry" good night.
1. Bath (as long as no one says the word "bath" this can be skipped, but if she hears it, you have to do it!)
2. Pjs
3. Brush teeth
4. Say good night to everyone
5. Mom/Dad watch her do her name puzzle that Dale made her.
6. Let her pick out 4-5 books to read. (at least 3 will be Sesame Street) My favorite part of this is when she will hand you the book and then turn around and stick out her bum and back into your lap to sit down.
7. Let her pick out 3-4 books to take to bed. (at least 2 will be Sesame Street)
8. Into bed, in the covers, with Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie, Ernie and maybe Bert if you can find him. Then add books to the top. One quick peek-a-boo with the blanket and you are almost done.
9. Sometimes she will ask for Primary music and sometimes she doesn't. Depends on the day.
10. Kiss and exit

These steps must be done in order and without interruption or there could be trouble! But if done correctly, there will be no tears at bedtime. I guess Kate is old enough to add prayers to that list. I think Kate's favorite part of the day is reading alone with us in her room. After she has been asleep for a while, if you are super quiet you can sneak back in and take a peek. It's funny how angelic they look when they are asleep. I just look scary--but kids are really cute!

Star of the Week

Luke got to be star of the week in kindergarten last week. It's a pretty big deal. You get to be in front of all the lines and you get to make a poster telling all about you. Here's Luke making his poster. He was very particular about the poster board color, which pictures we used (he really wanted a big one in the middle), and he wanted stars in his name. We had a great time making it together.

Here's some other miscellaneous Luke bits so I don't forget:
Last night as I was ironing my church clothes, Luke asked me a million questions about the iron. He asked about the handle, the cord, the steam, the hot part, the sprayer, the button. He is now an expert and I am now more appreciative of the intricacies of an iron.


Luke said some funny stuff tonight. After Allie taught our lesson for Family Home Evening, she said that when she grew up she was going to live next door to us. Here's the rest of the conversation:
Me: Oh good, that would be great
Luke: And I will live on the other side like a sandwich.
Me: Where will Kate live?
Luke: In your attic
Me: Oh great
Luke: And you will live in the attic with her and dad will live downstairs and play wii all day.
(All of us laughing)
Luke:You and Kate will live in the attic and play ponies....no wait!!! Let me change that. Dad will live in the attic and play ponies with Kate.
Me: Oh good! Then I will get to play wii downstairs?
Luke: No. you will be in jail.
End of conversation

Luke's Note

It seems like the kids always need something urgent when I am on the phone. The other day I was on the phone with the insurance guy and just needed a few minutes to clarify something. I went in my room because Kate was making a lot of noise. Allie and Luke know better than to interrupt me, so Luke tiptoed in with this note he had written. I think it is the teacher in me but I get little chills when children start writing on their own. I love their new handwriting and their spelling that shows how their brains are decoding words. I just think it's so cool! Luke doesn't write at home and I had no idea he could write this much on his own. I wasn't going to let them play wii that afternoon, but the great note changed my mind.


It says, "Mom since Allie is playing Webkinz can I play Indiana Jones Wii yes or no"

PS As a side note, while I was on that same short phone call, Kate dumped an entire new box of paperclips all over the dining table and pushed Allie's dollhouse (the one with a million little pieces) off her desk. It's a playmobil dollhouse that you build and it completely came apart. Not as cute as Luke's note and definitely a reason I don't get as much done as I would like to.

New Year's Eve

We had our friends the Olers over for New Years. We ate pizza and party food and played games and Wii all night. We didn't think that we would make it until midnight, but we did. The kids were setting their sights to 5:30 am, but the adults didn't have that much energy. I think the highlight of the evening was the adults all competing at Dance Dance Revolution. I'm sure we looked ridiculous--but we had a GREAT time. We were so energized, we got everything cleaned up before we went to bed.

We were worried about what things would be like in the morning, but Allie gave us a surprise. She took care of Luke and Kate in the morning and even feed them breakfast. (Kate had two bananas and some Cheerios) Michael and I slept until 11:00 am. It was wonderful. Thank you Allie--you are the bomb!

Christmas morning

Here's some shots from Christmas morning. We missed having family around a lot this year. It was probably a good thing since the kids were sick all week. Luke had Strep the Saturday before. Allie had a stomach bug and then Kate came down with Strep on Christmas Eve. It was horrible having her so sick. She would not sleep and cried all day. Poor thing! I was so tired, that when she finally took a nap around 4, I took one too instead of making Christmas dinner. We ended up making some fresh salsa and having tostadas for our Christmas dinner. Having one sick baby wiped us all out! (We did enjoy Christmas dinner that Sunday) The only thing that would pacify Kate was watching her new Elmo Christmas movie. We watched it so many times that we all have it memorized! We still had a nice day and the kids were excited to play with all their new toys.

They didn't really want to take this picture, but I made them. Our poor tree dried up so fast (I guess Oregon trees don't like Texas) I was surprised it made it to Christmas. Kate daily removed all of the ornaments at her height level. By the time Christmas came I was tired of putting them back on and they just sat in a pile under the tree.

Another Sesame Street book for Kate

Santa brought silly string in the stockings this year. What a mess--but a lot of fun!
This picture cracks me up. Allie looks like she is solving some serious computer problem. They are actually playing checkers with the Wenkinz animals. Allie and Luke got each other Webkinz for Christmas. Luke got a monkey and Allie got a guinea pig. (Webkinz are stuffed animals that you adopt and register on the web to play games with and earn fake money to buy things to take care of them.) It's kind of involved, but Allie could tell you all about it for an hour or so.
Santa brought Luke some more Lego sets. He's had his eyes on the Power Miners for a long time.
Santa brought Allie Disney Dance Dance Revolution and mats for the whole family. We had a great time playing this together.
Tennis rackets from Grandma and Grandpa Melanson. Kate got one too, but I couldn't get a picture of her with it. She does know how to use it though. Lookout!
Dale made Kate a puzzle. Can you believe he made this? It's amazing.
This is a new tradition for us. My aunt Peggy gives us for our gift a picture book of our family's adventures for the year. I get to make it and she gets it for our family. I decided as a gift for the kids, I would make them a copy of the book. That way when they leave home, they will have all of their pictures and little stories about the things that happened throughout their childhood. Hopefully it will be a tradition each Christmas. When the kids opened the book they spent a lot of time looking at it and remembering things they had forgotten. It was a neat end to our Christmas morning and a reminder what things we had been through and how blessed we are.

Snow in Texas

We thought when we left Portland we were leaving behind all chances for a White Christmas. Everyone here in Lubbock assured us that if it ever did snow in Lubbock, that it would melt by the afternoon. However, on Christmas Eve morning we woke up to this snow. (Actually we woke up to Allie and Luke running in and telling us that it had snowed.) The kids were thrilled. However, the snow here was a little different. The patterns created by the wind in the snow banks reminded me of sand patterns in the African desert. Even though it was cold, the wind blowing the ice in your face made it worse. Kate only lasted two minutes outside. I think Allie and Luke could have been out there for hours, but no one wanted to stay out with them. I didn't take many pictures--it was just too cold and I ran back to the house with Kate and quickly as I could. In a nutshell, it was completely miserable, but fun for the kids.

Kate and her buddies

Kate loves Sesame Street. Every morning she wants to watch Sesame Street. Even though she doesn't say many words, she can say Elmo, Cookie, Bert, Big Bird, and Oscar. This particular morning that I took the picture, she had gone to her room to get all of her buddies while she was watching Elmo. She plays with all these friends all day--usually pushing them around the house in a shopping cart. She even sleeps with all these guys at night. I'm not sure who her favorite is, but Elmo, Big Bird and Cookie are at the top of her list. She doesn't really like Bert very much. The other day she kept saying "no!" to him in a mean voice and throwing him to the ground. Eventually he was thrown into her crib for time out. For Christmas she got a few Sesame Street books and wants to read them every night. Luke and Allie were BIG Sesame Street fans too. Kate's obsession has brought them back to it and they even have enjoyed watching with her.