A little chef on our hands?

For the past 6 months or so Asher has often been found playing in what was originally Reese's play kitchen in the playroom.  He likes to take bowls and measuring cups from the real kitchen, bring them into his kitchen and then return with a plateful of lego "brownies" or "cookies" for us to eat.  Well, yesterday while CK and I were having a conversation in the other room, here's what he managed to do:

 The funniest part was that Reese herself found the situation a few hours later and came running up to me, "Mommy, Asher's cooking in the playroom.  Mommy, he has real food!"  Luckily the damage was minimal; perhaps he has a career as a chef if the housekeeping/vacuuming thing doesn't work out.

And an adorable picture of Emily:

3 months

I'm 3 months old today.  Can you believe it?

Back to work

It's 5:30am and I am feeding Emily for the first time since 10:30pm last night.  Woo hoo!  She has given us 5 hour stretches here and there but this was the first true all night sleep.  Unfortunately, Asher was up at 1:15am last night so neither of us truly got to enjoy our full night of sleep but such is life with three kids.

I went back to work last Wednesday after 11 wonderful weeks at home with my adorable little girl.  I flew to Houston for a meeting and am heading back there tomorrow for another trip.  I'm not officially assigned to a specific project yet so my travel is somewhat sporadic (good) but also unpredictable (not so good).

After two days at home with Dad (and Grandma who is here for the week) Emily went to daycare for the first time on Friday (since it was the beginning of the month). The kids loved showing her off to their friends and I'm pretty sure the daycare women loved cuddling with her so much that she was pretty much held by someone all day.  Rough life Emily. :)

Traveling for the first time wasn't too bad.  It was a short trip and I was pretty busy the whole time.  I'm adjusting to the schedule and challenge of finding time (and a private room or, as is often my case, an airport bathroom stall) every 2-3 hours to pump.  It's a lot of work but worth it.

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks:

Emily sporting her ASU pride

 This scene is familiar not matter what the setting

 Tanner and Asher riding in style

 Doesn't everyone decorate with tie-down straps?

 Being goofy

 A rare moment without a goofy smile

 And..the pout

Emily is starting to smile and coo a lot more which is fun for parents and grandparents alike.  Even Reese and Asher are able to generate some smiles when they talk to her as long as they're not simultaneously tugging her arm or shoving their nose in her face.  We've tried to teach them the concept of Emily's "personal space" but apparently that's hard to grasp at 3-4 years old.

Emily video

Waiting for Dr. P at my two month appointment and working on my motor skills...

IMG 0147 from CK LaFond on Vimeo.

Emily @ 2 Months

Emily had her two month checkup and first immunizations today.  The pediatrician walked in, looked at her stats, and said "So I guess she's eating well, huh?"  Her 2 month stats:

Height: 23" (75th)
Weight: 12 lb. 8 oz. (85th)
Head circumference: 38.5cm

 She didn't quite keep up with Reese who, at 2 months, was off the charts at 14 lbs. but she's growing fast and has the chub to prove it.
Emily's been smiling and cooing a lot more.  Here's proof:

We also took Reese and Asher to gymnastics for the first time today.  Reese loved it and did great (although she's a bit more "assertive" than the other kids in the class).  Asher didn't really have any interest so we'll probably wait until the fall to try again.

Swimming lessons

Reese and Asher started swimming lessons last night.  We started them in the same beginner class.  As predicted, Reese did pretty well and Asher clung to Daddy and screamed like he was being tortured.  The classes go for 4 weeks and are twice a week so when they go back tomorrow night we're going to keep Reese in the instructor-only class and move Asher (and Daddy) to the Aquatots (kids 3 and under with their parents in the water) and see how it goes.  Not sure if we'll be able to continue the lessons after I go back to work in a few weeks as it took everything we had to get all 5 of us to the pool on time, the kids changed, Emily fed and R&A from screaming...but hey, it's a start, right?

Reese holding on to the edge and learning how to kick.  She wanted to be sitting up on the edge of the pool and was not thrilled with this.

 Reese's preferred spot.  Her instructor looked all of 15 but he was pretty patient with the kids.  There's definitely a reason it's worth paying someone else to torture your children in the water.

 Asher clinging to Daddy for dear life...

 Reese's first dunk.

Kid pics and Kindergarten registration (already?!)

Since returning from Arizona for Christmas we've been settling back into a routine.  The kids are happy being back at daycare with their friends (ok, the parents are happy to have a break as well).  Emily is still battling a stuffy nose/cold and so is sleeping best when held.  Great for her, not as good for Mom.  But I am enjoying these last few weeks with her and trying to appreciate the 1-on-1 time I have with her while it lasts. I go back to work on the 30th with a trip to Houston so it's coming soon.  

Michelle and Jeff got the kids some fun re-usable stickers that came with a bunch of different scenes to put the stickers on.  Reese, however, decided it was more fun to decorate the windows in our living room.

 I know everyone says you aren't as good at taking pictures after your first child and that has definitely proven true with #3 so I've been trying to get the camera out more often these last few days.  Here are some recent shots of Emily at 7-8 weeks.

 Reese and Asher love playing with, kissing, hugging and otherwise "bothering" their little sister.  As you can tell, she's a bit apprehensive now that she can see them coming but it's still pretty cute.  Asher, who is normally full speed run-into-you-with-full-force man actually slows down and gives Emily very gentle kisses on the cheek.  It's pretty adorable.

 Reese got a hold of CK's iPad a few weeks ago and we found 60+ self portraits on there.  Here are some of the best.

On January 2nd I signed this crazy kid up for Kindergarten.  Can't believe it's that time already but she'll be 5 in August so will just make the Sept. deadline.  Because the elementary school we live closest to is so small and hasn't grown with the growing population of the Northern Helena Valley, they don't have enough spots to accommodate all the kids who geographically qualify to go there.  There are 3 Kindergarten classes and they give preference to kids who have siblings already at the school (makes sense) so a class and a half of slots are already taken.  So...asking around we found out that you need to get in line super early to get one of the last coveted spots.  So at midnight on the 2nd I headed down to the school and stood outside in 7 degree weather with 20 or so other parents to try to get our kids in public school Kindergarten.  Nuts!  My efforts were successful, however, as I was #7 in line and the principal (who nicely showed up at 2am to start registering even though the official start time was 8:30a) said at least the first 10 were "good to go".  I had no idea I would be using those Krzyzewskiville skills 15 years later...

Christmas 2012 in Arizona

We just got back from a great week in Arizona with 30 Joynts!  The weather was beautiful and we got to spend a lot of time with family and enjoy the holidays.  Although CK and I were dreading the flight(s) down and back this was actually our best travel experience with kids to date.  I think Reese and Asher are finally old enough to amuse themselves provided we prepare with enough toys and "new" things and snacks to help (their LeapPad and Leapster certainly helped- thanks Nana!) and Emily is young enough that she pretty much slept most of the way.  All three of them were great on all 4 flights.

 Grace celebrated her first birthday on the 23rd and we had a fun party.  Here's Jeff and Michelle helping her blow out the candle.

 She didn't know what to think of the frosting at first...

 But a few minutes later she was "all in"

 Nana with the birthday girl who, by this time, had lost one ponytail and was rocking the single side pony look from the 80s.

 We even managed to get a family picture all dolled up for Christmas Mass.  Too bad the little "angels" didn't act this angelic once we actually got to church.

 Dan and Venus meeting Emily

 Sarah and Fred and Dan and Venus Christmas morning, managing to stay awake with some java

 Fred, Sarah and Emily

 Asher teaching Dan how to use his new power tools

 Steve, Fred and Sarah

 Mom and her brood, all sporting our white t-shirts (well, except Asher, not sure where his was)

 Family game day was a competitive adventure.  Here, Alison and Reese on their way to victory in the 2-man-2-legged race (yes, the other competitors were all disqualified but a win is a win)

 Alison and Nick showing everyone how it's done in the 3-legged race

 Jane took on babysitting duties (after cooking everyone a wonderful feast the day before).  She had to escape to Show Low after we all left for some well deserved peace and quiet :)

 Not sure what this move is called or what kind of bat that is...

 Asher and Reese loved going to the park and getting outside for some sunshine in December

 They were both disappointed when we got home to Montana and they couldn't head straight to the park.

Merry Christmas from Reese & Asher

Merry Christmas from CK LaFond on Vimeo.

Emily at 1 month

It's hard to believe but Emily is already a month old.  As you can see from the pictures below (taken at the Pediatrician's office this morning) she's chubbing up nicely.  In fact, she weighed in at a hefty 9 lbs 14 ounces (75th percentile), a pretty huge growth spurt from her 25th percentile birth weight.  Even our pediatrician seemed impressed.  She measured 21.25" in height so she's well on her way to keeping up with her siblings.

Cookies and Asher's birthday

We started Asher's birthday by making Christmas cookies.  The kids sure had fun and it only took Mommy an hour to clean up the mess. :)

 Asher showing how old he is today.

 Think these two are excited for birthday cake?

 Asher blowing out the candles on his dinosaur cake (baked by Mom but designed and decorated by Dad)

 Asher got a lot of great gifts for his birthday but once this one was open...there was no going back.