Weird Playing Spots

I often find Elyse and Caleb playing in weird spots throughout the house, like closets, behind furniture, etc. Playing under the kitchen table is by far their favorite. They tend to play together there for a long time so I do not complain, instead I sit back and enjoy.

Any of you moms experience this? If so, do you have any other suggested fun places my kids can play?

Only God Can Do

ELYSE:

CALEB:
KALLEN:

More Kallen newborn/1 month pictures to come :)

Fun Windy Activity

Recently the weather has been a little chillier and windier than normal, but not bad enough to ignore playing outside. That's right, the kiddos have taken advantage of these windy days by flying their kite.

Bike Helmets

Last night, Nate and I took the kids to Blaine's Annual Youth's Bike Helmet Fitting. It's a great program put on by the police and fire departments. I highly recommend any parent in the Anoka County to take advantage of this. The departments specialize in making sure your child has the correct size bike helmet for only $12.

Now to the funny story of the night...the police put a 3+ year old helmet on Caleb and the helmet was way too tight. She then put on the next size, 5+ year old helmet and it fit perfectly. Ironically, it was the same size as Elyse's helmet, yet the police said hers was a little loose but the 3+ would be too small. Well we are hopeful we won't have to buy Caleb a new bike helmet for a few years ;)

Tot Time

Almost every Monday and Tuesday, our local YMCA hosts a "Tot Time" for kids under five. It's a great activity that involves an open gym with trikes, tents, tunnels, cars, balls and other gym activities. It's open for two hours and only costs $2 per child. We often join our friends which makes it even more enjoyable. I would really recommend attending a "Tot Time" if you live in Anoka County.

Elyse spent most of her time playing with the buckets, bouncy ball and running around.

It's no surprise that Caleb spent most of his time in the cars :)

And Kallen spent majority of this time doing what he does most, sleep

Brother and Sister Love

First off as you can tell, no arrival of baby boy yet. He has not even given me a tease of making an appearance. I feel fine and don't even feel over 40 weeks pregnant, but would not mind his arrival sometime soon so he won't get too big.

Anyway, back to the purpose of this post...Nate took out the eighth seat in our van and then rearranged the other ones yesterday. This resulted in Elyse and Caleb being right next to each other. I thought they were going to drive each other crazy, but instead they decided to ride to church holding hands. It was so adorable!!! I apologize the picture is blurry, I quickly captured it with my phone, but you get the idea.

A Walk of Faith

So my mom came up again this weekend just in case baby boy decided to make an appearance. We were sad to see her go, but happy to still be a human incubator. Anyway, when she comes up she brings her west highland terrier, Sophie. It's great since the kids are around a dog, but then the dog goes home. Elyse and Sophie have grown up together and really do have a special bond. Elyse loves helping take care of Sophie, especially on walks. Today's walk however is one that needs to be shared, it went something like this...

Elyse is holding the leash, Sophie sees a squirrel and goes after it. Elyse does not let go of the leash, and instead begins slipping on ice. As she is slipping she says out loud, "God save me" while continuing to be pulled across the ice by Sophie. Melts our hearts and makes us laugh at the same time. We sure do love our little princess and her faith in Christ!!!

A Sleepover Every Night

For just about a week now Caleb has been sleeping not in the nursery, but what was known as Elyse's room. We found Elyse an adorable sleigh twin bed and turned her old toddler bed into a little floor crib for Caleb. The transition has had a few earlier mornings than normal (still later than most children sleep), but for the most part it has been super great and successful. Elyse LOVES having him sleep in the same room as her. In fact, she does not talk or look at him because she knows if he does not sleep, then we will have to move him back (even though we really can't do that). Ironically, I think the hardest thing to do was add Caleb's blue stuff to a room of only pink and brown, and make it look good for little to no cost. I think we did a okay good job though. Plus we only have to deal with it for a year or so because we plan on rooming the boys together and redoing the nursery. Until now our two kiddos get to have a little sleepover every night.

Kiddos right after I opened the door to their room this morning

Caleb smiling in his new bed and room, such a big boy

Build A Dinosaur

Saturday morning the four of us headed to Lowe's to look for some home improvement ideas. While there we realized it was one of Lowe's "Saturday Free Kid Workshops". The project was making a little wooden dinosaur. Each child got their own apron, hammer and supplies. After the child accomplished their task they got a little badge to sew on their apron. It was a great father-daughter activity for Nate and Elyse. I just know they will take part in this again soon.

The before picture: Just got her apron, dinosaur material and hammer
The working picture: hammering away. Elyse did a great job, especially since Nate's fingers were never touched :)
The after picture: proud Elyse with Dada and her super cute dinosaur

After Dinner Silliness

Dr. Elyse Klauser

Elyse often pretends to be Dr. Elyse on her babies, Nate or I. However, today while playing I heard her tell Nate to lay down so she could adjust him like her chiropractor, Dr. Tony does. Therefore, she became a doctor of chiropractic medicine. I think she may have adjusted him a little aggressively and funny, but sure was having fun.
In case you are interested in seeing a chiropractor soon, ours is amazing!!! All four of us go. Dr. Tony Lawther not only helped Caleb's torticollis after his first adjustment, but helps me twice a week. In fact, I could not imagine being pregnant without getting adjusted. Him and his wife run their clinic called, "Essentials of Life Chiropractic" in Andover (www.elcmn.com). It's reasonable, family friendly and Christ centered.

Rockin' Out

I don't know if I would really consider Elyse and Caleb to be rockin' out, but that's what they think they are doing. Their keyboard and microphone has to be one of their favorite things to play with, especially together. Not the best video, but you get to hear their "beautiful" music that I hear everyday, enjoy :)

And yes, Elyse is wearing her gloves, scarf and hat. She didn't care it was -2 out without windchill, she wanted to go get new books at the library. Therefore, we trucked out in the cold today and honestly, it wasn't too bad. She just decided that she wanted to keep it on as accessories. My own personal, "Fancy Nancy".

Bubble Bath Fun

Playing in Nate and my bath tends to be a rainy day activity in our home. However, with today's temperatures being only in the single digits I did not have the motivation to bundle the kids up to go outside. The sun looks beautiful, but sure is deceiving. Therefore, I asked Elyse if she wanted to play in our tub today as a special treat; she obviously said "Yes" and asked, "Can we have bubbles too, please?" I could not resist the nice manners. Caleb was so excited that instead of signing "more" during lunch (for his second serving like he usually does), he signed "all done" and "bath" over and over again. Needless to say, they had a blast and it sure made an hour fly by today. I know this activity will be a common occurrence now that I let it take place on a sunny day, oh well.

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall,...

...Who is the Fairest One of All?

With lips red as a rose, hair black as ebony, and skin white as snow - her name is, Snow White.

So this post is way overdue. Previously in the Christmas post I wrote about the cutest present Elyse received from her Uncle Steven, Aunt Kim and cousin, Chloe. This is it, isn't is adorable? Elyse loves dressing up as Snow White, only if she has the hair on too :)

Elyse Goes to the Dentist

Today, Elyse checked off another big girl thing on her to do list. She spent her time in the dentist chair. I was given a recommendation to go to Riverdale Pediatric Dentistry in Coon Rapids, and now I am recommending it to all you parents who live in the area. The staff is amazing and the farm theme and decorations is so much fun. There was also individual movie screams above the kids' heads where they get to watch a movie to make time go by fast. Elyse did amazing, which I wasn't too surprised since we have talked about it for the past week, I showed her the website and she knew other friends' who already had it done. Overall, super successful and we will be going back there for sure in 6 months.

Elyse being introduced to her Dental Hygienist and what she would use.

Elyse getting her teeth cleaned, flossed and counted while wearing some real cool protective eye wear and watching a movie.

Elyse did such a good job with the cleaning they asked if she wouldn't mind getting x-rays taken. She rocked those too in her smiley face cover up.
Big smiles on her face as she is all done with NO CAVITIES and is waiting for her bag of goodies. No joke, they spoil the kiddos rotten. She went home with toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, stickers, toys and cups.

Pajamas and Books

Most of our mornings play out very similar, I read the kiddos a book or two, they hurry to get dressed and then run downstairs to eat breakfast. However, this beautiful Friday morning was not like the rest. The kiddos decided to spend over thirty minutes in Caleb's room, having me read or them look at books on their own in their pajamas. It was so peaceful, enjoyable and relaxing. Hoping for more mornings like today in the future.

Letter "E" and Little Person

After dinner last night, Nate and I captured Elyse using her notepad. We then grabbed the camera to capture her writing the letter, "E" after drawing a very good and detailed little person. So proud of her and very impressed!!!

Railing Fun

Elyse and Caleb spent quite sometime tonight playing "Get-You" in between the railings. They were just laughing and keeping each other so entertained. Loved watching every bit of it. Still wonder why we buy toys?!?

Too Much Help

Elyse can not get enough of Caleb and helping him do stuff. We often feel she acts more like his mother than his older sister. Always trying to get him his toys or paci, telling him to not touch things he is not suppose to touch, helping in his bath or getting diapers changed, and even feeding him when he will do it himself. There are times where Nate and I can really appreciate it, then there are other times where it just makes parenting twice as hard. Oh well, at least she loves her brother that much to want to be with him all the time.

Dancin' Feet ~ Part 1

Last Wednesday, Elyse began taking dancing class at a studio in town. It's called, "Dancin' Feet" in Andover if interested. It is a great, affordable, educational and fun place to learn dance. They meet every Wednesday for 45 minutes and do jazz, ballet and tap. She smiles the entire time she is there. Her class consists of only 3-4 year olds, and she is by far the youngest, but her teacher, Ms. Kristi says she dances, follows the rules and behaves no way like a three year old. We are very proud of her. By the way, I titled this one part 1, because her class goes until May, so I am pretty sure she will be improving and we will post more.

The video has no audio since we are outside the classroom looking through the window.