Meatloaf

It is official. We have another monster on our hands!!! At Cali’s 4 mth check up, she weighed in at 17lbs 2 oz and 27 ¼ in long! OFF THE CHARTS! NO WONDER she was getting up THREE TIMES a night to eat!!! She is growing like a weed!!

We got the go ahead from the Dr to start feeding her cereal and eventually fruits/veggies 2 times a day. I can’t believe it is time for that stage already. Having these monster babies makes me feel a smidge jipped in the little baby stage. Lugging Cali around in her car seat is beginning to get a smidge difficult. However, I will say it is a pretty sweet work out. If you see me in the parking lot…you may or may not witness me doing lunges and lat raises with her in tow. Hey…how else am I going to lose this last pound of pregnancy weight??

Cali and I went to meet Kaia for lunch at school. One word for the event: Hilarious. Kaia was VERY proud of her little sister and was quick to inform her classmates what  they could and couldn’t do with HER little sister. My favorite comment was from a little friend that said, “WHOA. That is the biggest neck I have ever seen on a baby.” (Referring to Cali’s delicate neckline...ok, ok her three chins.) Little kids are so brutally honest. I am not sure what was my favorite part of the day was…how mature Kaia interacts with her classmates, eating school slop or witnessing “Cheese Touch” (a game that is played in the Diary of a Whimpy Kid Series). It was pretty funny watching kids school each other without them knowing. Ahhh. To be a first grader again…

Mother’s day was a blast. Matt and the girls took me to a hotel downtown (The Depot) that had an indoor waterslide and arcade. It was a relaxing weekend filled with lots of family time. During the day Saturday we went to a Cinco De Mayo Festival in St. Paul. They had all of Kaia’s favorite things…Horse Rides, Super Jumps and Mini Donuts. I am surprised her head didn’t pop off!!

We added a new member to our family (no…not another furry or squirmy creature). My sister Angie had a little boy, Michael Reid Willson, on April 29^th and he was 7lbs 6oz and 19in long. We finally have a boy in the family!! He is going to look so smashing in his pink hand me downs from Cali…

So close to sitting up on her own!

Daddy and his pea pods

A drooling Panther Fan!

Sister snuggle time

Daddy's blues



Mother's Day walk downtown



Horse Rides=Happy KJM

TICKLE MONSTER!!!

Featuring Cali Mitchell in..."Mommy the TICKLE MONSTER!!!'

Credits

Videographer: Kaia Mitchell

Appearances by: Mikka

Happy Chubby Chatterbox

Cali is a busy baby…and growing like CrAZy!!! A few new milestones we’ve reached by 4 mths:

-          Grabbing for toys and mommy’s face!!

-          New voices {She’s always been quite the chatter box…but she has added some new screeches to her vocab}.

-          Getting up 3 times a night to eat!!! She likes to party…and loves spending as much awake time with her mommy as possible…

-          NO MORE SICKNESS J

-          SIZE 3 diapers!!!!

-          9 month clothes!!!!

-          Mommy found socks that FIT her chubby feet and cankles!! No more cut off circulation or bare feet required! Thank you Target and Trumettetoo! Link to Chubby baby socks

Dr appt is in a few weeks. I am excited to see where she is at for growth. Not so much for round three of shots...

Video of Cali at 4 months. We were dining at our fav breakfast spot, the Pancake House over Easter Weekend. Here she is doing what she does best...talking, smiling and talking some more. We just LOVE her!!

 

Spring has Sprung

Spring has sprung in Minneapolis!! Well, at least for the last few days...according to the weather man, we are supposed to get snow this weekend!! UGH. Damn Mother Nature.

But, we refuse to let that ruin our fun in the 'sun'! Over the last few days we've had a lot of fun out enjoying the weather. We were able to take Cali for her first walk in the Bjorn for breakfast at a great spot in Uptown.  The girls and I enjoyed a walk around Lake Harriet and had our first picnic of the year! And last night, Kaia and I had a blast at First Avenue Downtown for a Greyson Chance concert. {While Daddy had some special bonding time cleaning Cali's blow out diapers...}

Don't know who Greyson Chance is? That little man can sing! Here is a link to his youtube video that made him famous: http://youtu.be/bxDlC7YV5is 

First picnic of the year!!



Kaia and Mikka




Kaia performing at the Lake Harriet's Band Shell. So beautiful!



Lots of love on Daddy's lap

Mikka likes to share



Feed me. NOW.




Walking around Lake Harriet



Cali's first picnic.



Kisses at The Greyson Chance Concert at First Ave



 





8 hours. Overrated.

It’s Sunday, April 10^th. All is on the sick mend in our house {finally}. Cali’s cough is minimal, her oxygen levels are on the rise…and she is sleeping without having to be propped up. {YAHOOO!}. I am so ready to waltz into work on a Monday morning with a continuous 4 hours of sleep under my belt. {sarcasm}.

Enter 2:34 am. I awake to a silent little tip toe into mommy’s room. It is Kaia. Poor little thing is complaining that her hips hurt. I pull her into bed with Cali and me. Minutes later, she is crying in her sleep that her hips still hurt. I grab some Tylenol and ice packs and start the infamously requested mommy back scratching, thinking she is having growing pains. Moments later…she has to go to the bathroom. We start walking…when FLARPSHBASCKSH!!!!! PUKE. EVERYWHERE. {Literally}.

Please see definition:

Puke:

intr. & tr.v. puked, puk·ing, pukes

To vomit.

n.

1. The act of vomiting.

2. Vomit.

3. One regarded as disgusting or contemptible.

As we are running to the bathroom with FLARPSHBASCKSH flowing everywhere…I am AGAIN. Drenched. In vomit. {See line 3. In definition}. That makes three times in one week I've been puked on by my darling children...

SICK. Literally. Figuratively. SICK. How it didn’t get on Baby C is beyond me. Daddy came to aid the stank volcanic explosion {while nursing his own illness} in the wee hours of the morning.

The scene upon his arrival:

-          A now, happy baby smiling in her swing

-          Sick, feverish 7 yr old on the couch (chuckling at the now 'comical' explosion)

-          FLARPSHBASCKSH on floor, wall and mommy

-          A physically sleep deprived mommy ready to CrACk

-          Washing machine running. With neatly sorted piles of FLARPSHBASCKSH laundry ready to roll. (With the door closed to ward off our small furry family’s scavenging tendencies).

So right when Kaia is supposed to return to school from her nice Spring break, she gets to stay home another day and be a little couch potato. Thank goodness for our live-in nanny {That shout out is for you Auntie Agex}…or my PTO could be referred to as KTO {Kid Time Off}.

So much for my 4 hours. Sleep is overrated anyway...

Sick Kaia (and buddy Mikka)

Healthy Kaia.





Sick Cali.





Healthy Cali.



Kaia for President

I am sure if you asked Kaia she could recite my ‘mom lines’ without hesitation: “Wash your hands. Don’t talk to strangers. Remember your Please and Thank You’s. Be a great leader. Do the right thing. Have FUN. And the Hawkeyes suck.”

Well, I think all that repetitive ‘mom chatter’ has paid off. I know we are partial….but she is SUCH an amazing little girl. She is hilarious, leads by positive example at school and can debate with even the most passionate Hawkeye fan of her utter distaste for the black and gold.  

I’d like to share a few of Kaia’s goals:

1.       Buy a farm. {No joke. She’s been saving since she was 3. She WILL NOT touch any of her piggy bank money}.

2.       Become a veterinarian {clearly caught the animal gene}.

3.       Own a pet grooming business

4.       Be an animal scientist

5.       Be the first woman President. {She plans to rid the world of littering and animal cruelty. What better way than to do it from the top??}

6.       Play soccer at UNI {GO PANTHERS}.

As you can see, there is an animal theme present. So to continue to nurture this passion of hers, we try to find ways for her to volunteer. {A great advantage living in the city}. Her non-profit of choice is the Animal Humane Society. As most know, her first big step towards this was having friends donate items of need for the Humane Society, rather than gifts, for her 7^th birthday. {I kid you not. All her idea. What kid doesn’t want presents on their birthday?? I cried}.

Up next is the Humane Society’s largest fund raiser of the year…the Walk for Animals. We did it last year and had a blast with all the great animal and people watching. We def need to take the old collar and leash combo up a notch this year!! She plans to push her mouse, Squeaks, and 4 hermit crabs in her doll stroller and walk our dog Mikka in a costume. It will be quite the animal parade!

Kaia has set a goal to raise $500 because that amount helps three dogs through the Adoption Preparation Program. Check out her fundraising page and contribute to this great cause, EVERY little bit helps: http://events.animalhumanesociety.org/site/TR/Walk/General?px=1463690&pg=personal&fr_id=1150

I have no idea how we got SO incredibly lucky to have two AMAZING, happy, beautiful little girls. But we did. And I have no intention to let all that genuine, positive energy and go getter do gooder attitude go to waste!

Now…if I could just figure out how to get her to eat her vegetables…

Uncle continuing her love for ALL animals. Cookie the python. Xmas 2009.

Daddy. The best soccer coach in the world.




PERFECTION.

 


She LOVES her Mikka




where there is one, there is the other. July 2010.






Snot Sucker

Attention Parents!!! Have a sick wee one??! Better yet…do you HAVE a wee one??! Do yourself, your sanity and your child’s wellness a favor and purchase the Nosefrida. Trust me, I wasn’t a believer…until last night.

This handy little device just kicked the blue ball hospital syringe’s A#$.

Not only can my children BREATHE, it provided an evening of entertainment. Thank you amazon.com! {Also available at Target.com and Walmart.com}.

Need some tips? A reviewer on Amazon had this to say:

“this thing works. it sucks boogers out of noses. it even stores them in a little tube to eat later. or, you can just wash them out in the sink. anyway...it works better than any of the other things we tried...and we tried pretty much everything. there's a technique to it:

- suck in quick short bursts with your mouth muscles first...to loosen things up
- then, suck in long hoover-style bursts to get those boogies out
- if the boogies get stuck near the surface, try pulling the end of the thing out a little mid-suck a few times
- use a tissue or q-tip to get any nose goblins that are loitering anywhere accessible
- repeat

if i was a professional booger sucker...and it was my job to suck the snot out of noses 8 hours a day, i would insist on using this thing. but i would want a longer tube, and a holster.”

Below is a handy 'how to' on YouTube…

Along with the photog montage of the Nosefrida expedition with the girls…

You WILL thank me. {You are welcome and happy sucking}.



Our first attempt. NO CRYING!!




IT WORKS!! MUCH better than the blue syringe!!



Kaia wasn't so sure...



cheers to being sniffle free!



Get over here mama, it is your turn...

Kisses, Hugs and Hand Sanitizer

When visiting family for my sister Angie's baby shower on 3/26/10…I learned a valuable lesson. Hand sanitizer, hand washing, repeat.

Most of my family and friends haven’t met Cali since her arrival, so I was fully expecting to have to share my precious little bug. However, with all these kisses, hugs and minimal hand washing…we ended up coming home with more than a trunk load of baby gear. She got RSV.  

What started off as a little cough that following Monday…turned into coughing attacks that led to vomiting. Having a 7 year old, we have been through the ringer with colds and sickness. But something in my gut told me that this wasn’t the regular cold. I went to the pediatrician last Thursday and she made me feel like the typical ‘first time mom’ freaking out about a cough. She sent me on my way informing me that it is ‘just a cold’ and will pass in a day or so.

I will refrain from profanity in describing this said pediatrician, but I wasn’t pleased when a few days of ‘just a cold’…turned into coughing attacks that made Cali vomit. I took her back to a DIFFERENT pediatrician on Monday, to have them discover that my mommy intuition was correct. She did in fact have RSV.

It was scary few days of constantly watching her breathing and trying to make her comfortable. She started nebulizer treatments 4 times a day that did wonders! I am happy to report that last night went much better. She did vomit from a coughing attack this morning, but sounds so much better than she did earlier this week. We have a follow up appointment today to check on her progress…I’ll keep you posted!



Nebulizer Treatments. She is such a trooper!!



Sleeping Little Bug

Tummy Time

She may be sick, but she is still darn cute!!

Big Sisters know how to make you smile





3's

March is a big month:
- Today, Cali is officially {3} months old!
- I turned {3}-0 on 3/14
- Matt turns {3}-0 on 3/26
- Kaia tried {3} new vegetables this week. Trust me. This is a HUGE feat.
- {3} hours left until my FIRST week back at work is complete {yeah}
- Cali weighs 15lbs {3}oz..............and growing..........

I'M THREE MONTHS!!

i have THE coolest big sister EVER

mommy loves my cheeks!

"Animal Feast" aka: a way to get Kaia to eat her veggies. WIN mommy.

Bed time?? No thanks!!

The girls' first arguement.

Back Story:
Kaia's bedtime: 8:45pm
Cali's bedtime: right now.

Cali didn't think it was fair. And Kaia thought it was funny...
And so the story unfolds...

Bittersweet

It's my last day of maternity leave. As I sit here holding Cali as she sleeps and watch Kaia play...it ticks me off that the money tree I planted isn't growing. I'd return it, but lost the receipt. Just my luck. Looks like I will have to resort to drastic measures....the Lotto. Or according to Kaia, there always is that pot of gold...

The last three months have gone so fast I can hardly believe it. My anxiety for leaving Cali tomorrow comes pouring out at random intervals. I feel sorry for my cube mates tomorrow. Box of Kleenex...Check.

I am so lucky to have these two blue-eyed babes. Oh motherhood....

Mommy/daughter day at American Girl and MOA

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Our first walk!! 2/11

Busy Bees!!

The 1st {nearly} three months have gone by so quickly!! Here is a snapshot of some of our adventures {month one}:

1/1/11: Cali's First NYE!! It was our first trip out of the house, so mommy was pretty excited!!! The New Years celebration was a nice relaxing night spent at our friends the Benge's home....all wore Jeopardy themed attire coupled with 'Minute to Win It' games. For those who want a little kick for that next tea party you are hosting, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kif6xmFJ19A

2011!!!

Where is the party mom??!

This. Is. Jeopardy.

1/11/11: Kaia turned 7!!! If that doesn't make me feel old, I don't know what will. My baby is growing up so fast! She wanted a crazy hat and mustache snow tubing party...so that is what she got! This year Kaia opted for civic duty and in lieu of gifts asked guests to donate items to the Golden Valley Humane Society. She collected over $400 worth of 'pet stuff' and had a blast dropping it off and meeting the benefactors. Thanks again to everyone for making her Birthday Wish a big success!!

Kaia and her BF Etta. Sporting their crazy hats and staches

Kaia, Mikka and Panther with some of the donations!

A few weeks old and already sportin a great stache

1/24/11: Timberwolves, Courtside!!! It was Cali's first professional sporting event. Kaia was asked by one of Matt's client's little girl to join her on the Timberwolves court for her birthday. It was AMAZING!!! We got to sit front row and watch the team warm up, meet the players and get autographs. Then Kaia was on Fox Sports Net and was lifted by the General Manager into the huddle before they run out onto the court. It was a once in a lifetime experience!

Kaia and friend with two of the players!

The family on Center Court before the game

1/27/11: Off to Florida!!! It was Cali's first time on an airplace and she did amazing! She slept the entire trip. Our journey started with her official meeting of Uncle Jack. She was all smiles and Kaia was pretty darn excited to see him and her snake, Cookie.

The next morning, Matt, Kaia, Cali and I were off to Disneyworld. It was the first time for all of us...except Kaia. It was magical!!! The folks at Disneyworld, sure know how to make a lady feel welcome! I felt like a princess all day...for example (at the food stand): ' Excuse me Princess, would you like a straw?' Why yes. Yes I would! It was like that all day. Ahhhh.

We spent a lot of time at Matt's aunt Julie's house eating great food and laughing hysterically at the antics of all the little cousins together. Highlight: Just Dance 2 for the Wii. HILARIOUS. (Immediate purchase when we returned to the land of snow). We also trekked down to Gasparilla (A pirate festival in Tampa). Let's just say it made for great people watching.

It was tough to leave the land of sunshine....

Disneyworld!!

Meeting Uncle Jack for the first time. ALL SMILES!

Little Birdie sittin on her perch