babies are a piece of cake

Today, Jack got super soaked when I took a bubble bath.  So, we took his shirt off since it was pj time for him soon.  After awhile, he got his "bee bee doll", a little cabbage patch doll I bought intending for it to be Kate's that he's confiscated ever since she was born.  He slammed his doll down, climbed on the couch like a little monkey, and spent minutes getting into a perfect cozy spot right next to me -- just him and his dolly.  After insisting I "wrap her up" with his favorite blankie, he snuggled with his dolly.  Then...he said "momma bee bee hungy, I feed her with my boobs."

Oh goodness.

After a few seconds, he proceeded to burp her.  His sweet little hand patted her back oh so lightly while he said "time to burp sweehearrr".  It is a moment I will never forget.  He went on to change her diaper, dressed her, wrapped her up again, and sweetly placed her in Kate's bouncy chair.  He proclaimed "bee bee nigh night time mom, bee bee sleeping!" He even had the music playing!

Clearly, Jack could take care of babies already.  I hope his future wife appreciates how wonderful he will be with kids.  LOVE!

This picture...

needs no words. 

I love you, buddy.

Dear Baby Kate

Tomorrow is officially my last day of maternity leave.  Just typing that makes me sad.  Yes, I know I only have to go back to work for seven days...but it still is hard to believe three months has past already.  For the next seven days you won't be snuggled in my arms, staring intently at my face, in your own snuggly place we call home.   Next Wednesday, I assure you, your big bro, Jack and I will settle back into our little routine and soak up every adorable minute of you until August.

You know exactly who your momma is, that's for sure.  When you hear me you turn your little head...when I run around you you attempt to follow me with your eyes.  And when you catch me out of the corner of your eye you let out the most adorable nothing-in-this-world-gets-better-than-this look and smile from ear to ear.  You let out a big sigh every time I come near and I love that about you.

You scrunch the top of your nose for two things:  smiling and crying.  When I set you on the floor your little arms and legs go crazy!  I think you're practicing your swimming/future track star moves?  Must be.  You eat very slowly...you like to be snuggled up right next to me and I think you figured out that eating slow keeps you there longer.  You're smart, little dolly.  You roll from your belly to your back so effortlessly now.  It's adorable to see you grow stronger and stronger.

I'm certain that your first real love is me and your oh-so-wonderful daddy, however, your snuggle bunny comes in at a close second. Even strangers comment on how much you adore your bunny.  {and I can't even describe how many comments we get from strangers when we're out and about...}  You chew on it.  You snuggle it.  You grasp your little bunny as if it is the most important thing in your little world.  Maybe you love it because it's pink, and you and I will share that as our favorite color?!

I love dressing you up in dresses and bows.  I love that you sit oh-so-patiently for me to paint your tiny little toenails (three times already)!  I love having the perfect balance between blues and pinks filling every nook and cranny of our house.  I love how your tiny hands always find mine.  I love that your right little foot finds its way right out of the sling in the bath tub every single time.  I love that you adore Jack and bat your adorable lashes at him when he runs by and says "hiiiii bee bee Kate!" And, I love that you're my little girl.

Kate, I can't wait for you to grow.  I can't wait for future pedicure dates, shopping sprees, prom hair and more.  I can't wait to give you advice on learning, girl drama, and even your first boyfriend.  I promise you, sweet baby doll, you will always have your momma right by your side.

For ever.

And ever.

So there's this girl...she kind of stole my heart.

She calls me Mom.

When one door closes....

As I finished my first year of teaching, I realized I was missing something.  Yes, I had dozens of crazy first-year-teacher stories, wonderful coworkers that are now great friends, and a cute little two bedroom apartment decorated in nothing but stars.  However, mid-year I realized I wasn't bogged down with lesson plans or stressed about what to teach anymore and I missed learning.  I love to be challenged.  I love to think and discuss.

I love to learn.

In my second year of teaching (in a new district, teaching a new grade level, with a brand new baby while building a house...whew!) I decided I wasn't busy enough?!  Ha.  I decided to begin a graduate program in order to become a future school administrator.  I researched ISU, Drake, and Viterbo, and ultimately chose ISU because of the easy communication, similar set-up to UNI which I was familiar with, and weekday classes vs. weekend (mostly).

Then, life got crazy.  Didn't I say I like to be challenged?  Well that happened alright.

While keeping up with classes, 20-page research pages, discussions, group projects and more...I taught 140+ 8th graders all about rocks, raised a baby into a blossoming terrible-two's toddler, had another baby, and made our house into a home.  The last two years have proven to be interesting, challenging, and oh so rewarding.

I've officially graduated with my Master's in Educational Leadership from Iowa State University.

I said it!  I typed it!  It's kind of sort of sinking in.

With one door closing, another door opens.  I decided I wasn't ready to be bored next year without grad school so...

I have accepted a 5th Grade teaching position at our brand new elementary {not even finished being built yet} in Waukee!  I am SO excited for SO many things {including a giant list of pinterest classroom ideas for all things elementary....stay tuned!}

When one door closes another one opens.  Here I come, elementary school!

Sweet week-old Kate watching mommy type paper, after paper, after paper...

(I know you're jealous that this is how I got to spend my maternity leave... =)

More...

I have to be honest, going from one to two has been a relatively seamless transition in the Krieger household.  I heard horror stories of mental breakdowns and bratty-big-bro-syndromes, and so far we're in the clear.  I was not, however, informed of the new meaning of more.

When we go to the store we have to buy more stuff.  Before...I used to go on missions --- update Jack's wardrobe for summer...easy.  Stop at Baby Gap and buy everything in multiple colors....done.  Not anymore!  Now I go to Baby Gap (with a toddler and a giant Chicco stroller that only holds a 2-month-old -- how silly!  Double stroller search is underway...) and check the toddler boy section and grab a few things.  Then I make my way to the baby girl section and decide what is actually practical and wearable.  Yes, I said it.  Kate does not only wear Baby Gap as Jack did!  I have a new love relationship with Carter's baby girl collection.  I still refuse to put Jack in Carter's bright colors and dog decals...but the girl stuff doesn't usually have any of it!  There's ruffles, adorable on-trend colors, and oh so much comfy cotton.  So, Jack = Baby Gap...Kate = Carter's.  That means more shopping, more stores, and more clothes.

Buying more clothes means more laundry.  You wouldn't think adding one more kiddo to the mix would increase laundry...but my oh my girls!  There are leggings, and headbands, and skirts, and pajamas, and cardigans, and tights.  Me oh my!  There are so many little pieces in Kate's wardrobe that get separated and must be reassembled together.  Not to mention cute bibs, burp rags, and blankies.  Again, more laundry.

Two kids means more diapers.  I used to be okay with just tossing a diaper across the room and putting in the trash when I made my way to it.  You can't really get away with that with two kids.  It ends up looking like a diaper waste land and I feel like I'm living in a dumpster.  I have to find size 4 in the up and ups at Target AND the size ones in pampers swaddlers (I love the little blue line...and Kate is so picky about wet diapees, so I'm being a brat and requiring the more expensive ones..for now.)  And of course that means more wipes.

Having sippy cups AND bottles means more dishes. The list could continue.

There are, however, so many positives about having two kiddos...

More snuggles.
More laughter.
More poopy diapers to be laughed at!
More stories to tell.
More sweet, adorable, melt-my-heart moments that I hope to never forget.

Band-aids, boppys, and big brothers

Kate had her first round of shots today.  She was a rock star.  One giant scream and she was over it.  Two cute little pink and purple band-aids were the only remnants of her first pokes.  As always, I think it hurt Eric and me more than it hurt her.

As soon as we got home, I showed Jack her band-aid battle wounds.  He instantly felt sorry for her and started taking care of her.  First came his intensely high-pitched voice saying "What's da matta sweeeeehearrrrt?"  Then came her snuggly dolly.   After that, he ran to find her glowworm -- and pushed play in order to calm the newly poked babe.  Finally, he topped it all off with a blanket. 

Jack is the sweetest big brother (and 2 year old) I have ever seen.

Baby Kate loves to chill laying on her boppy pillow.  She's awake a ton now-a-days and loves to be in on all the action {and trust me, with Jack there's a lot going on}.  She's still super chill and just loves to lay there and be.

I just love our little family and all of the adventures we tackle together.

Throwback Thursday

June 24, 2006

2006?!  It's 2013.  It does not seem real that we were married that long ago.  Who was I in 2006?  What in the world occupied all of our time before our kids?

Back then...

Eric worked at Best Buy and I worked in the good ol' Financial Aid Office at UNI.  We both were working towards our degrees.  We always made plans for the weekends and often hosted grill-outs and bonfires in our tiny little abode we purchased months before our wedding (when I was 19...holy cow...)  We spent lots of time with Eric's family -- because I love kids and loved spending time with all of Eric's nieces and nephews. 

My days were filled with carefree shopping, lots and lots of cleaning, organizing, and decorating {and redecorating...can I say that I painted my living room the color of Kate's poo?  Who knew..} and hanging out with friends.  I always made time for working out and loved getting a nice hot dinner ready for my sweet hubby.

I remember one time, there was a gigantic ice storm in Waterloo.  It knocked our power out on our entire neighborhood.  We were sure we could handle the cold for as long as the power outage would last.  We snuggled next to our wood burning fireplace, created a little campsite, and played scrabble by candlelight for three nights in a row.  At one point, our thermostat read less than 50 degrees.  Three days without power was a nightmare, but what I remember were some of the best talks and times.  

Now...

There's nothing more sexy than a pink flamingo burp rag flung over Eric's right shoulder and a sweet little baby adorned with a petite little bow snuggled perfectly into his arms.  We have a non-stop-talking chatter bug of a toddler who is figuring his way around our world.  We constantly hear "what's dis Mom?"  or "Daddy da moon, do you see da moon Daddy?  It's up der in da sky!"  We sing "ABC's" and "Twinkle Twinkle" every. single. day.

Our date nights include putting both kids to bed and cooking dinner together in the quiet.  The other night we bought a hefty top Iowa sirloin fresh from Fareway and grilled and chatted and ate together.  Yes, it was at home...but it was definitely special.

Flashback Thursday brings me back.  I am exactly where I was meant to be and am loving every booger-filled kleenex, poopie squirty diaper, quick kisses stolen from my hubby minute of it.

Sibling Love...

Jack is two-and-a-half next month.  I am SO, so, SO very grateful for the time span between our two littles.  He's just independent enough that he can play and be content if he needs to be, yet...he still loves a good snuggle with momma.  The best part is I'm sure he'll never really remember life "before Kate".  I worried that he would act out or wonder what in the world happened when we brought our new baby home, but honestly since the day we walked in the door with Kate he was smitten.  {Okay, so maybe he scratched a kid's face at daycare his first day back...but the same kid bit him a couple times.  Maybe that's Jack making a stand for toddler bullying and NOT him acting out?!}

1.  Jack is nicknamed "Captain Obvious".  Mom, bee bee cryin!  Mom, time for biper change...me do it!  Mom, Maggie barking...hear it?  Yes, Jack we know...but thanks for filling us in.  He's a helper that little guy.

2.  Pink and blue are interchangeable at this point.  Why buy a new baby bath tub when the blue one works just fine?  Blue bumbo for our sweet little girl...sure, why not.  Jack's in on the color swapping, too, as he rinses his little head in the tub with a pink hair rinser cup and snuggles with a pink stuffed pig he stole from Kate's shelf. 

3.  Trips to Target are twice as expensive.  I pick up a new toy for Jack and a few outfits for Kate.  Two boxes of diapers.  A bag of Goldfish for Jack and another bottle of Johnson's baby wash for the tub.  Two kids = way, way more Johnson's.  MMMMmmmm I never want to forget the sweet baby smell of that unforgettable baby wash.

4.  Never. forget. the. mornings.  It doesn't get any better than waking up to Kate's little cry in the pink and gray nursery across the hall.   Instantly, Jack cracks his door open and instead of coming to our room...he goes straight into Kate's.  I listen intently from the monitor as he climbs on the crib to say good morning to his baby sister.  Within seconds I hear his pitter-patter and he's next to my bed saying "momma, yake up...bee bee Kate is wakin' up!  Mom, get up!  Good morning, momma!"

5.  Two kids crying.  Enough said.  Every once-and-awhile we have a total meltdown in our living room.  When not one but TWO kids are having full out scream fests...Eric and I usually just look at each other and laugh, laugh, laugh.  Eventually it calms back to normal.  Tonight, Jack was mad about me taking away the iPad {the kid's getting addicted!} and we watched as Kate's face went from a smile, to a frown, to a full-out cry!  Adorable.  She already feels for her little bro.

{I think they like each other...}

"Lord help the mister that comes between me and my sister." 

- Irving Berlin

happy *2* sweet girl

You are two months old today!  As always...a broken record...time is flying.
 

{We have a lot of bows.  Okay, maybe A LOT...}

Diaper Size:  Size one.  Right now we're rocking good ol' Pampers Swaddlers with the adorable Elmo and oh-so-wonderful yellow indicator line that turns blue when Kate pees or poos.

Clothes Size:  A whole lot of everything.  We've packed most of her newborn stuff away...okay fine ALL of her newborn stuff away.  *tear*.  Kate mostly wears Carter's size 3 months and she swims in 6 months but we're getting there!

Sleep:  Oh, we've got another good little sleeper on our hands.  Kate sleeps through the night most nights!  We give her a bath -- which she absolutely adores.  Then, we snuggle her in comfy jammas and feed her and she's off to bed.  Most nights she sleeps from 9/10 - 4/5.  It's amazing.  She takes a good morning and afternoon nap, too.

Favorite Activities/things:  Kate is simple and picky.  Give her a blanket in the middle of the living room floor and she's happy!  Bouncy chair -- um, no.  Swing -- depends on her mood...most of the time no!  Oh, and she's perfectly content right in my arms anytime of course.  I just love snuggling with her.

{Still playing with her little tuft of hair}

How could I forget her snugglebunny?  I bought this adorable little snuggly bunny in a clearance bin at PBK thinking it would probably end up on a shelf collecting dust.  Nope.  We don't leave home without it!  She snuggles it so sweet and tries to eat it, too!

{Mom, do you have that silly camera again?! Uh oh, I sense attitude already...}

Eating: On a perfect little schedule.  She is a slow eater!  She stares at me so intently when I'm feeding her.  OH, and she's happy as can be when she's done eating.  Whenever daddy feeds her a bottle she falls fast asleep.  We had to buy a deep freeze for all of the extra milk I have -- so I'm hoping she'll never have to drink a drop of formula...for now. :)

Nicknames:  Baby Kate, Baby Doll, Sweetheart, Doll, Sweet Girl..

Talking:  Oh, she is going to be a loud talker I'm afraid!  When she does talk, it's a raspy voice for such a tiny thing.  She coos a little and gurgles so far.  We'll see soon!

New adventures:  Awake more!  She's starting to have long stretches of being awake and watching our crazy little family adventures.  She loves to stare at the lights through the windows.  Her tiny little eyelashes have grown like crazy and I'm excited that she will share her gorgeous eyelashes with her big bro and daddy.

 {Love. those. eyelashes.  This was a few days ago and they just keep growing and growing!}

 Dear Baby Doll,

I love you, sweet baby girl.  You have molded our family in a whole new way.  It's hard to keep the smiles and the tears away when your brother climbs on the floor with his elbows on his chin and says "Hi bee bee Kate" in the sweetest, high-pitched voice I've ever heard.  You grab onto his finger and even let out a big wide-open-mouth smile to him as you watch him so intently.  I love the way your little foot finds its way right out of the sling in your baby bath and the scrunchy, figuring-out-what-in-the-world-is-going-on face you give me a million times throughout the day.  I love dressing you in all of your girly pink clothes...topping every outfit off with a bow.  I love that you scream your little head off if I try and put you anywhere but the floor.  I love your coos and your white knuckles as you clench your little fists.  I love watching your eyelids get heavy as you fall asleep so peacefully in my arms.  I can't imagine life without you, sweet girl, and I'm so thankful to be your mom. 

Love you, doll,
Momma

Wordless Wednesday