New Friends

Kiera has a new best friend ... Swiper. Unfortunately, he is not visible to the typical person ... or anyone, besides Kiera :) Last week she got upset at Seth for sitting on the swing - afterall, it was Swiper's swing and Swiper was already on it. Then yesterday I watched Kiera as she stood outside the sliding door. She would bend over, do something with her fingers, stand up and "put" something on the little white shelf. She did this twice, then walked through the door. I asked her what she was doing, and she looked a little startled - as if it were quite obvious. "Taking off Swiper's shoes! He can't come in our house with his shoes on!"

Kiera - 2.5 years

The title is a lie ... Kiera is not 2.5. She is actually 2 years and 8 months.... but I was a little busy with a newborn when she turned 2.5 :) So, an update at 2 years and 8 months will have to be sufficient! 

Kiera is definitely a change for us! Her personality and character are very different from that of her older brother and sister :) She is so full of life, personality and spunk :) She keeps us on our toes, and, more importantly, on our knees! Her energy and enthusiasm will help her go far ... if we can make it past the terrible twos/threes! 

   

 She is a stubborn little girly. She knows what she wants, and is determined to get it. And usually whatever she wants is the opposite of what mommy and daddy want - sometimes, that "oppositeness" is the only requirement. The other night Greg decided to play her game, and told her that she was not allowed to sit in her highchair. Of course, after he said that, her highchair is the only place she wanted to sit... perfect :)

 She loves her baby brother dearly. She is his advocate - as soon as he cries she comes running to let me know he is "hungee". She smothers him with her lovin'... and he is usually quite pleased with it! She also adores her older brother and sister, but is a little too destructive and determined for their liking. This causes a few skirmishes ... and Kiera can definitely hold her own!

 She loves to talk ... and she speaks in the most adorable language - Kieraese. She has a hard time with first sounds, and does a few sound reversals ... for example, bedroom is debdroom. She loves to drink tea ... and to her, tea drinking time means chatting time. She sits on the couch, tea cup in hand, and starts to "chat"... which means she chatters non-stop, using all sorts of hand motions, and the occassional laugh.

I feel as though I've sort of dropped the ball on her in terms of "learning". Seth and Maddy got lots of (too much??) attention in this department at her age ... Here are a few things she has picked up: Kiera can count to 13 ... usually. If she wants to. She knows a few letters - well, two: K and S. In fact she finds the letter "s" all over the place. It confused to me at first, because she kept pointing at random things (ex. shower curtain hooks, signs all over town) and saying, "It's Seth!" She knows most of her colours, and can sing a few songs. She loves to colour, and is very good at staying in the lines. She also likes to "write". She fills page after page with tiny little circular squiggles (aka words). She also believes she can read - she sits down and points at every word in a book, "reading" the story to me. She is not one to sit still for long, and strongly dislikes following directions, so teaching her will always be an adventure. 

Kiera's enthusiasm draws attention wherever we go. She is not shy, and is willing to talk to anyone. She makes new friends easily ... today she found someone sitting in Made In Holland, started chatting with him, and made a new best friend. She loves people, and loves to be around them. A crowd does not frighten her - it energizes her ... She is cute, and can make people laugh. She has no trouble leaving my side, and is often brought back to me by random people at church who have found her in random places. Despite this, she is generally ready for a mommy or daddy snuggle. She loves us dearly, just as we love her! We cannot imagine our life without our crazy two year old ... and are very excited to see where God will take her. Lord willing, she will be able to use her love for life and others to do great things in His Kingdom! 

Fast

We have some pretty cool new swings hanging up. Of course, new toys means a few arguements ... everyone wants to be on the same swing at the same time. I've been encouraging the kiddos to take turns by counting. Greg was swinging on one of the swings (I know, "kiddos" is a relative word....) and Kiera wanted to swing on it. I told her to count to ten. She looks at Greg, yells "TEN" then says, "Ok, my turn". She's a fast counter :D

Pesty Snakes

We enjoyed the beautiful weather this evening by going on a walk along a nice trail. Seth, Maddy and Kiera ran ahead like the little energizer bunnies they typically are. Since the trail is often frequented by bikers, Greg yelled out to them, "Watch out for bikers!" We were pretty surprised when they came to a virtual halt and started slowly walking along... they didn't usually listen quite that well! We caught up to them and they looked at his with alarm: "Walk slowly ... and don't talk. The vipers might hear you." Ahh... that explained it - they thought Greg had told them to watch out for vipers, not bikers :) So, the next time I need them to slow down, I shall warn them of vipers in the area!

The Prophet

We love Kiera dearly. She brings a lot of joy and laughter into our house ... and a lot of prayer :) She definitely keeps Greg and I on our toes - she has a tendency to test her limits. One of her latest "tricks" is to pull the "my mom / dad" card on the opposite parent. For example:
Dad: "Kiera, your shoes are on the wrong feet."
Kiera: "My mom says they are not. They are good."
Or...
Kiera: "I want my light on." (When tucked up in bed for the night.)
Mom: "No, we are going to keep it off.:
Kiera: "My dad says I can."

Well, tonight she ran into a little trouble ... Greg and I were together - can't very well play the "other parent" cards. Not to worry - she had it figured out ... when told she wasn't allowed to do something she responded with, "God says I can."
Ha. Right. Nice try, little prophet :)
 

Kiera's Needs

Kiera always asks for the same things: a hug, a kiss, and a fiver. It's pretty cute.

May: Seth's Sayings

I took Carter for his two month check-up. He got his needles - one of which bled profusely. It was rather startling - for both me and the Dr. I called Greg on the way home and told him about all the blood and how the dr thought she had pierced a vein. I also told him that the Dr. warned me that Carter could get a big green bruise. I later heard Seth talking to Maddy, telling her all about how Carter might turn green because the Dr. had put a needle in his brain. I guess he heard bits and pieces of what I told Greg and ran with it ....

April Randoms

A few pictures from life around here in April. 

Hugging his rhino teddy from Aunt Kara and Uncle Tsjibbe 

 Cutie! He looks a lot like his cousin Chase here ... I think that's why I like this picture so much - Chase is a cutie ;)

 Maddy and mommy. Seth took the picture ... this was his best one. His first one involved a lot of wall and a little of my forehead. The next involved the snowman on Maddy's pj's ... Perhaps photography is not in his future??

Kiera really enjoys being a "baby" since Carter has joined our family. Apparently it looks like a rather pleasant life to her ;) She loves to be carried in our arms, put to bed in Carter's bed, swing in the swing. It's very sweet. 

 Uncle Tsjibbe is a story-reading hero around here. When Seth and Maddy heard he was coming they got prepared ... a stack of books awaited his arrival ;) He doesn't seem to mind! Oh, and check out Maddy's sweater - hand knit by Grandma VanGrootheest! Pretty cute!

Reading is a common event around here. Maddy's reading has taken off like crazy lately - she reads everything she sees! Carter gets to reap the benefits of this ... and she's even reading upside down! I guess this is one of the benefits of having older siblings! 

Check out this girl's cute hat! 

Maddy didn't feel so well for a day :( 

We started this adventure this month - ahhh! Kiera really has no desire to be an underwear wearing, toilet using human being. Diapers are fine for her. She did well the first week, then decided it was a little too much work .... 

School time! 

More school time - learning about archeologists and the work they do - it's tough to put broken things back together!! 

 

Cave painting - just like the nomads. Notice the dad shooting the deer??

Carter's working those muscles! He loves to stand - especially when his tummy is bothering him!

He often sleeps in his carseat at night. I had to snap this picture because it was (drum roll, please!!) the first time he slept through the night! That's right - right until 7:30 AM!! Feels pretty good! I guess all that standing the previous night made him tired.

I signed Seth and Maddy up for tball this year. Seth is pretty excited. He slept with his glove on.

Yay for warm weather and lunch / snacks on the deck! No mess inside for mom :) Seth thought it was a little too sunny and didn't want a sunburn - so he hid under the table. And whatever Seth does, Maddy and Kiera follow.

And so ends another busy month - full of living life with four kiddos! Thank you, God for every day that we are given together.

Two Months

Two Months! Two wonderful (tiring) months with our little man! It was another eventful month - including a trip back to the hospital for bronchiolitis. His reflux was also in full swing - making nights very long. He was an okay sleeper - but needed to be held upright for a good hour after feeding... tough at 2AM! If he was not held up, he would cough and choke and gag, scaring his mom and dad in a very big way :) I eventually took him to the chiropractor which made a big difference - he stopped screaming in his carseat and even started sleeping in it for longer stretches at night. However, the need to be held up after a feeding continued... very hard to remain positive sometimes! Thankful for the support of my husband and my mom!

Despite the exhaustion that comes with all newborns, we are very thankful that God entrusted Carter to us. We had a good month in many ways - he started smiling (and never stopped - he is one smiley baby!!) He also started talking, and, like his siblings, didn't stop that either. He talks as soon as you look at him - and also talks to whatever he sees - the bee on his playmat, the teddies on his swing, the toys on his bouncy chair. It's very cute to listen to! He also began to enjoy his world a little more. Baths and the bouncy chair became things to enjoy, not tolerate :) He went on a few fun outings : Aunt Kara and Uncle Tsjibbe's, Aunt Candice's, Lilah's, church, the park ... Lots of fun places to check out!

Now for a few pictures of our handsome man... 

 

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Smiles

I love baby smiles!! Especially when the smiles are coming from my own baby :D Carter started smiling early this month ... and hasn't stopped! He is a very smiley baby. He loves attention - and quickly rewards anyone who stops to look at / talk to him with a big smile. So thankful for our happy little guy! 

First smile caught on camera

So happy! 

 

Maddy is a pro at getting smiles! It makes her brother and sister jealous...

Twins

Carter and his big cousin :D Hopefully they will be best buds one day - just like their big sisters!

Spoiled

This little lad is well loved (I know I've mentioned this before....) His siblings always make sure he has all he needs ... and doesn't need :) He is well supplied with toys... 

Easter Egg Hunt

We tried something new this year ...
Each year the small town close to where we live has an Easter egg hunt. I have always sort of planned to take the kids, but never followed through. This year was different though - this year we finally did it :) The kids were supposed to be divided into groups by age. We missed Kiera's age group - so she joined in with Maddy and the rest of the 4 year olds. Kiera had a blast - she walked around calmly picking up eggs and adding them to her basket. Once she had around 15 eggs she decided that was sufficient and left the "hunting ring". Maddy was a little too shy to venture out to look for eggs. She did eventually go and pick up a few :) Seth was a completely different story. As soon as the whistle blew he ran into the ring and started grabbing eggs and filling his basket as fast as he could ... I eventually called him out because really, who needs that many chocolate eggs?!
It was a little colder than I expected, so we were a little underdressed. It is also a hugely popular event, which meant we were parked faaarrrr away and had a nice long walk ... Other than that, I would say it was a great success :)  

Lots of treats to share! 

Kiera was in no mood for a picture....

Fancy

One of Maddy's friends turned five on the first day of April. To celebrate she had a fancy tea party. Maddy dressed up in one of her princess dresses, we had lots of fun doing her hair, we put sparkly nail polish on her fingernails and some eyeshadow on her eyes ... she had so much fun getting "fancy". I forgot to take a picture of her before she headed off to the party ... but here is a picture of her hair do :) 

Spring

Ahhhh.... the long winter may be finally over. I love Spring - it holds so much excitement and promise. The kids are always thrilled to get outside and start exploring the property again. And we can start walking .... 

Here are a few pictures of our first official "spring" walk :)  

Time to start the 2015 rock collection! 

 Carter's first ever spring walk was spent sleeping cozily in the carrier snuggled up to mommy!

Yay for Spring weather! Yay for walks!

March Tidbits

The month of March went by in a blur. I find the first month or two after a baby joins the family pass by quickly ... but in a slow way :) Each individual day seems long as I try to adjust to the new normal ... but then suddenly my baby is a month old and I wonder where the time has gone! Here are a few pictures of the fun we had in March ... most of them are of the cute new member. I just can't resist his newborn sweetness :) 

 Seth wore this little outfit when he was a week or two old :)

Who doesn't love a sleeping baby?! My other three loved to sleep in the swing - Carter actually doesn't care for it too much. Maybe because it doesn't work??

He does a lot of sneezing...

It's taken a bit of work, but we've finally taught him how to cover his mouth when he yawns...

Ready to go! This picture is deceptive. He actually screams every time he is in the carseat - the whole way to and home from wherever we are headed. Makes for an uptight driver!! 

He is a very aware baby:

Awww ... sad baby ... Just waiting to be picked up and snuggled. Or pounced on by one of his siblings. They don't let the tears last for long! 

 Making some thank-you cards for the people who helped us out after Carter was born.

Carter loves this fuzzy blanket. 

Another Blue Jays fan....

Seth, Maddy and Kiera love it when Carter holds their finger :) 

Working on that neck strength. We have a bit to go...

Even though a new member has joined our family, our daily life still continues on as before - including our crazy suppers. Can't wait until I can post pictures of FOUR silly faces :)