Kason’s birthday and other happenings

It has been a little chaotic last 2 weeks so I haven’t updated our web site very much.  So much has happened but no time to write about it and I’m sure I’ll miss a lot of fun details that happened.  Kason turned 2 on May 6th and we had some cupcakes that day with our daycare kids.  They all enjoyed those and I was hoping Kason would be able to practice his candle blowing for his big party, but he still didn’t quite know how to blow the candles.  My mom came the day after Kason’s birthday which was a really late night for all of us.  Audrey watched our kids so they could go to bed while we went to the airport in Fargo.  I bought some curtains not too long ago but they were too long so Audrey worked on them all night to hem them up for me and iron them nicely.  It was a lot of work with 6 long panels and they look great.  Anyway, mom’s plane got in 2 hours late but luckily she got here without any bad incidents.  Her plane departing London did fly 3 extra hours, flying above Portugal to go around the volcano smoke, but her connecting flight was also late in Chicago so at least she didn’t miss it.  So we finally went to bed around 2:30am that Saturday and the kids all woke us up before 7.  It was a pretty nice day out in the midst of our very cold and rainy weather so we were all running around inside, outside, trying to get things done.  Mom was on a roll the whole day, with no sleep in like 3 days and wanted to get everything done right away.  But that was great and we got so much done in just one day.  Still couldn’t work on much outside with the dirt because it was too wet.  Then Sunday was mother’s day and we were having the Hanson family over for Kason’s birthday.  Still a bit sleep deprived, mom made most of the food and it was awesome.  We made baked pork chops in a creamy cheesy sauce, baked potatoes and a really good salad.  I made a dinosaur cake for Kason and for some reason I thought it wouldn’t be enough for everyone so I quick made another dessert.  So we had a lot of dessert left but no meat and potatoes.  It was the funniest thing to watch Kason devour his food and mom was very happy that Kason loved her food.  It was nice to be with the family too since we don’t get together very often.  Kason enjoyed opening his gifts and is more aware now that some toys are just for him and they’re more special to him.  He got a new train set from nanna and papa and all the kids enjoy those, even Kade who hasn’t played with his in a long time.  Kason is still a bit clumsy when it comes to tracks so they don’t stay together very well, but he loves trains and his favorite saying these days is “I wanna watch Thomas”.  His favorite books are also about Thomas the tank engine and he loves wearing his Thomas shirt.  Funny how both him and Kade are so into that at this age.  Kason also got a small sandbox but we didn’t get a chance to buy sand for it and the weather has been so cold that he couldn’t play with it anyway.  All of our kids that come to our house are asking to play with it already though so I know it will be a hit outside.  Kason is still staying in the 100th percentile, just a big boy and you think he’s older than he is.  He’s not saying too much yet but recently he started saying a lot more, especially repeating everything he hears other kids say.  He loves giving hugs to everyone and warmed up to babka (my mom) very quick.  When he doesn’t see her for a while he asks “where is babka?”.  So, that about sums up our last weekend.  Since then we did a big shopping trip one day with my mom, upholstered dining room chairs, organized kitchen, mudroom, started some plants, and all kinds of little projects besides my mom making a lot of Slovak food that I miss so much.  We are all waiting for the warmer weather to return so we can work on the outside some.  The next thing will be to get the garden ready so we can plant some vegetables before mom leaves.  We still have a long ways to go with our yard, bringing piles and piles of black dirt, then seed the grass and then get to a few landscaping projects.  Here are some pictures to sum up what I’ve been writing about.

Kason’s b-day cupcakes

enjoying his birthday dinner

mom upholstering my dining room chairs

I’m still not sure if I like the fabric I picked but at least I love the colors.

mom getting some vegetable plants and herbs started

the only positive of this awful weather – the beautiful green trees all around

Kason LOVES shoes and he especially loves babka’s

Kade’s last night of Awana

getting his 2nd book award. He did great memorizing all the verses and the books of the Bible

the crew playing with Kason’s new train set on a cold rainy day

getting ready to eat babka’s great Slovak food.

mmm, this is different. We’ve never had food like this before. :) Sweet is sweet and all the kids like it no matter if they grew up with it or not.

all the “parene buchty” we made and there wasn’t much left after today

our bed-time story time

Kason’s alphabet

Just a quick post showing a video of our Kason.  He loves learning about letters and I wonder if he would be one of those toddlers who learn to read at 2 years old.  That’s if I really worked and worked with him.  But who cares, all the kids learn to read quick if they are read to and Kason loves reading.  I wish I was able to read to him Slovak books as well as the ones in English, but we have to stick to very simple words and phrases in Slovak.  I’m trying to be a lot better at talking to the kids in Slovak, but it’s not easy at all with me being the only person who speaks it to them.  Plus they know I understand them in English so they don’t need to try hard.  If I tell them they can have something if they ask for it nice in Slovak they do try but I wonder if that’s really teaching them much.  I know it’s all on me and I have to daily remind myself to do it and to say almost everything twice, with a translation.   I have always felt bad about not being able to stick with it well enough and plus I hate when I don’t finish something or don’t achieve something I’ve set for myself so I’m a lot more determined now to do it.  We’ll see how it goes, I need to keep telling myself that tiny steps forward are better than no steps at all.

a little kids update

Just thought about writing a little something about our kids since I haven’t talked too much about how they’re doing.

Kade – Our oldest 6 year old.  He is our little manager, keeping all the kids in place and is very fast to point out when someone is doing something they’re not supposed to.  I read in a Bible study book that it might be a trait of a prophet, pointing out the wrongs in people, which is a really positive way to look at it so I’ll take it. Kade is very bright and school is so easy for him for now.  They’re still working on very simple things so it’s not rocket science but if there is a new math concept introduced he just gets it so quick he surprises me a lot.  He’s also becoming a really good reader and it is pretty easy for him too and something we never had to work on much.  The only thing he needs to improve on is his handwriting, but it doesn’t surprise me at all since he has not liked to draw or color ever since he was little.  I used to bribe him to color one picture and then he got to do something else.  So he really hasn’t had as much practice with fine motor skills until just this year.  But he is getting a lot more interested in coloring pages at church and he works really hard so it looks nice.  He’s always had a little bit of a perfectionism in him and if he knows that he can’t do something really well he doesn’t even want to try.  So he needs a lot of encouragement and cheer leading with some things.  But he loves going to school and loves learning new things.  Kade is also our huge people person and hates being alone.  He even hates to sleep alone in his bedroom so I guess having his little brother with him is a treat for Kade.  Since I watch kids during the day there is always someone here to play with which Kade just loves.  Even if he gets upset with someone and storms into his bedroom, he’s out in less than 5 minutes having a good time with the kids.  Kade has a big sensitive side to his little person too which we need to remind ourselves of sometimes because he feels hurt pretty easily.  Overall, he is growing up way too fast and sometimes I have to catch myself because I think he still needs me like he did just a couple years ago.  It is a little sad but it is so fun to see him grow into his own person, having his own ideas and grasp new concepts in life all the time.

Anika – 3 years old and a very much a girl.  Ehren and I both love having her as our only daughter because she is such a girl, cute and gentle, with a little flirtatiousness already.  She can be a huge social butterfly at times, just wanting to be with other kids but she has no problem being quiet by herself, reading her books or play with her toys.  She didn’t start to talk very early on so for a long time we had a hard time telling how much she really knew or understood but I think she’s been learning all this time because she surprises me with what she knows every day.  She doesn’t try to show off what she knows but she’s listening to everyone and learning new things from her big brother.  She loves letters and puzzles with letters so she’s into that now.  She has known the alphabet for almost a year now and still likes to learn about the sounds and spelling words.  She is also getting into the pretend or role play and likes to play “house” or “tea party” with her animals, ponies or barbies.  It is so cute to watch her and Emily (Ani’s cousin who I watch every day) role play together and say things they hear us say.  Ani also loves animals and is not afraid of any of them.  About a week ago she got a kitten from Ehren and loved her right away.  It’s an outside cat but we bring her in to play with her more since it’s so cold out and Ani just follows her everywhere and giggles.  I think what I enjoy the most right now is that Ani lets me put as many dresses and clothes on her as I want to, she waits patiently as I try new hairstyles on her and make her look pretty.  It’s funny because I’ve always been a tomboy growing up and my mom would have to fight me to wear a skirt, but now I love dressing up Ani for church or whatever. We both love being with Ani especially in the evening because she gets all cuddly and giggly and never gets crabby like the boys when they’re tired at night.  Just a sweet little girl, although she can get pretty big screams out of her when Kason is taking something from her.

Kason – our little or big 19 month old.  He’s no push over that’s for sure.  Usually in a happy mood, follows the kids around and if he spots something he likes he just dives for it without care.  The other kids usually end up crying or yelling at him, but Kason could care less.  He’s built so strong, looks like a power builder but he can be so gentle.  He loves snuggling with mom or dad, mostly mom though.  His right thumb still goes in his mouth when he needs comfort and his other hand is rubbing his ear.  Kason is very observant though and not much gets passed him around here.  Somehow he’s not saying too much but he also doesn’t need to because with the signs he knows and few words he can get by.  I think at times he gets little fits when he’s frustrated and can’t explain himself though.  In the middle of one of those moments if I look at him and ask what is going on, he starts to talk with his quiet voice, all gibberish so I have no idea what he’s talking about but he’s seriously explaining himself.  His favorite shows are Signing Time, which is where he learned all the signs and the leapfrog stories which teach all about letters and letter sounds.  We didn’t think he could grasp too much from it but just about a month ago we realized he actually knows most of the letters in the alphabet.  When we point to a letter and ask what it is he tells us the letter with a big grin.  Sometimes he just says the letter sound instead of the letter like “Duh” instead of “Dee”.  We have bath foam letters too so now when Ani is taking a bath with him she quizzes him on the letters and Kason loves it.  I’m just really surprised he picked it up from watching that show (I know, the kids are not supposed to watch any tv until they’re 2) because even Kade who we were impressed with at the time was close to 2 when he recognized the letters.  It’s pretty easy to miss Kason’s small steps because of all the other kids, but you can tell he is going to be smart and nothing goes by him.  One thing he started since he’s about a year old that he just loves to read.  Sometimes he’ll pretend to read his favorite books to himself but mostly he brings us books to read to him and once we start there is no stopping reading without crying.  He could sit in my lap and read a book after book after book, well that’s if I continue to read his favorite ones or new exciting ones.  Pretty much anything about Thomas the tank engine is good, then Dr. Seuss is good, and any ones illustrated by Eric Carle, and a few of Anika’s books that became his favorite too.  So if I grab a book that I know he doesn’t like he starts to cry and throw a fit and runs to pick the “right” book and will cry by me until I read it even if I’m reading a different book to someone else at the moment.  Kason is just our big teddy bear and we all love him.  I say big because ever since he was born he was off the charts on his height.  We’ll have to see when he’s 2 to see how tall he’ll be, but people think he’s at least 2 years old when they see him.  It’s not fun with clothes either because he’s been wearing 2T for a while and even though he’s a bit shorter than Anika, he could wear her size clothes.  He is quite a bit heavier than she is so that is a little strange too.  Kason also loves being outside no matter the weather but I have a harder time with it since he is covered in mud head to toe in minutes.  Now we finally have snow and Kason doesn’t get dirty, but he gets snow everywhere and with the cold temperatures he doesn’t last out there too long before I make him go inside, his fingers and legs just red from the cold.

Our big teddy bear

I’m just realizing that I have barely written anything about how our Kason’s doing so I better write a few words about him.  He seems to be growing up so fast in front of our eyes, maybe it’s because he’s #3.  He still doesn’t say much, just a few words but he understands a lot and there are some things I can’t say in front of him like the “froggy movie” or else he has a fit that he’s not getting what he heard.  The froggie movie, as we call it is his new favorite and he can sit and watch the whole 25 minutes of it.  It is a leapfrog movie about letters, letter sounds and putting some simple words together.  Both Kade and Anika learned the whole alphabet and all the letter sounds from it before they were 2 and I’m sure it helped Kade with his reading too.  I just can’t believe how much Kason loves these shows and he even repeats some letter sounds from it.   We usually put it on in the evening when I’m trying to cook dinner because that is his fussy time when he just wants me to hold him.

Kason is 16 months old this month but is as big as many 2 year olds and most of his clothes he wears are 2T.  For fall/winter jackets he’s going to wear 3T and they’re not even that big which is a little scary.  He just got his 15th month shots last week and he is still in 100th percentile for height, 90th for weight and about 75th for how big his head is.  He looks really long but he’s built strong like Ehren, nothing like my brothers who are all tall but skinny.  So now he’s officially the same weight if not bigger than Ani’s.  She is just a skinny peanut, but she’s still quite a bit taller than him.  Kason is also a really good eater.  There are very few things he doesn’t eat and if he sees anyone eat in the kitchen he has to eat too.  I don’t know if it’s good or bad that he likes food so much, but I’m really glad he’s like this in comparison to being a finicky eater.

The biggest joy Kason brings me right now is how much he loves books and puzzle toys like shapes, legos and stuff.  I was a little worried when he was an infant because he had no interest in sitting and looking at the picture books, he was always on the go.  Now he can sit in my lap and read books one after another for a long time.  He also keeps bringing me books or if I’m sitting down he’ll grab my hand and place the book in it because he wants to make sure I read it to him.

He also loves cuddling with me or Ehren on the couch and suck his thumb while rubbing his ear.  He really is like a big snugly teddy bear.  He is very strong and can be a tough guy but really he is so gentle and soft inside.   Probably a little bit of being the baby of the family.  Kason also follows the older kids around and wants to have everything they are playing with.  But he doesn’t cry about wanting something, just comes right in and takes stuff away or ruins something the kids have been working on, and it’s usually Anika who ends up screaming.  His fascination is still with Ehren’s laptop or my computer, but he can’t ruin the keyboard I have.  Poor laptop is not looking so good with all the missing keys he broke off, but Ehren will soon need a new one so it’s not the end of the world.

Kason also loves loves going outside, but I on the other hand don’t like taking him outside much unless it’s really dry.  If there is one tiny puddle in our yard he will find it and is sitting in it before I know it.  So I pretty much have to chase him around because he’s so fast that I turn around and he’s gone.  He also wants to take off for any road he sees so that is really the scary part.  At least there are a couple playgrounds in town where I can watch him from a distance and he can’t run away easily.  I’m just hoping he’ll grow out of this stage soon and will listen to me when I yell his name or when I tell him to stop.  Most of the times, if I see him running for the road and I yell at him or tell him to stop he just starts running faster, not even looking back at me.  I used to smile when I would see kids doing that to their parents, well now when I’m the parent it’s just not that funny.

So, that about summs up what Kason’s been up to.  It really feels like he completes our little family because when it’s just Kade and Anika it is so quiet and peaceful (well, most of the times) and like something is missing.

Kason is 1 years old!

Our baby is not a baby any more which makes me happy and sad at the same time.  The time just flies by so much when you have kids.  I still remember being pregnant with him or the shock after the birth when I saw how much he weighed (an ounce away from 10 pounds).  And now he’s running around after Kade and Anika, getting pretty close to Anika’s height and weight.

Kason has been quite a bit of a mama’s boy lately, hanging by my legs and fussing until I hold him and pay full attention to him.  It gets progressively worse starting at 4pm when I am the busiest trying to make the dinner so it is pretty challenging at times.  The worst thing I can do in the evenings is go outside for something or closing the door when I’m giving the other 2 kids their baths.  When that happens Kason is just crying bloody murder by the door until I come out.  Ehren can comfort him once in a while but if he sees a glympse of me that’s it, he only wants mom.  But even though it can be hard I enjoy it at the same time because he’s my baby.  It’s hard to see them get all grown up like Kade but it is fun to watch their personalities develop.

Kason is a great eater and I think sometimes he would just keep eating if I kept giving him more.  He loves to eat everything we do but he is still ok with the baby mushy food, too.  He also sleeps really well, like a clockwork.  I am waiting to see when he’ll be ready to stop his morning nap, but so far if we’re out an about around 9-10am, he usually falls asleep in my arms because he’s so tired.  He’ll take a 45minute to 1 hour nap in the morning and then another 2 hour nap in the afternoon.  For that one I put both him and Anika down together and it is a nice break when it’s just me and Kade and all the housework…  At night we put all 3 kids to bed at 8pm and Kason sleeps until around 6:30-7am.  It is just a really nice sleep schedule he has and we just lie him down and walk away and he puts himself to sleep, which is my favorite part.  I think we got really lucky when it comes to kids’ bedtimes because we never had any problems putting them to bed, the whole process takes maybe 15 minutes.

Anyway, Kason is not talking much yet, but he loves to grunt and he signs a couple things too.  He is still very busy and since he got better at walking now when we’re outside he throws a fit if I don’t let him run wherever he wants to.  Especially at our church or clinic where he sees the big open hallways he wants to walk all over so bad.  He’s also our little engineer because out of our 3 kids he’s the most interested in how things work, how the wheels turn, how the puzzles go together and stuff like that.  He likes cars a little and got the hang of “brrrm” sound as he’s playing with them, but he’s not into them like Kade was.  Sometimes he’s more interested in turning the car upside down and watching how the wheels work.  Anika and him are starting to become better playmates and they’re almost the same size so it’s cute to watch them.  Sometimes they cuddle together, but not for too long because Kason is up and on the go again.  He will not sit still for very long and he still likes to get into all the cupboards and take stuff out, especially the cleaning supplies and spices.

Well, I think that’s enough of my ramblings.  We are truly blessed to have Kason in our lives and we look forward to seeing what God has in store for him.  Happy birthday, Kason!

Below are some pictures from the day he turned one.  We’ll still have family over for a little birthday party on Saturday so I’ll add those pictures to it later.