Officially....

We can now say that Arnold is officially sitting up AND he has 2 teeth. We can walk away now and feel pretty confident that he won't tip over. Arnold likes to sit up and play with his toys and the dogs now. He loves to show off his pearly whites, too.

Prince and Princess Day at Little Gym

Now, this is a theme day that Emma Claire could REALLY get into.

Little Helper

I'm enjoying the help where I can get it!

Cheerio Art

We did cheerio art when home on Monday. Sophie ate the works of art before the glue was even dry.

The "Princess" Dance

Going on 3 Weeks...

...of someone in the Kadue household being sick. This time it is Arnold. He woke up at 2:30 am Monday morning with a fever of 104.7 (he had been battling a temp most of the day Sunday, but under control). Emma Claire never had a temp that high. The only time she came close, she was older. So, off Arnold and I go the nearest ER. Did I mention we had a blizzard too - 13" snow.

Brad shoveled out an opening at the end of the driveway and off we went onto unplowed streets. We made it to Methodist without incident.Turns out to be a virus, nasty ear infection and, to top it off, pinkeye. By the time we left the hospital at 5:30, his temp was down to 98 and he was smiling. So, I was home with him on Monday. He would be happy and content when his fever was down and then it would shoot up again to 103-104, which makes mecrazy. I called Dr. Hobbs and he said to come in, so we did. He said the same thing. Ear infection, virus, he's ok so long as the fever's under 105 (seriously? - they must be mistaken). He gave us a different antiobiotic and off we go.

Arnold perked up again and seemed like he may be turning the corner -

until bedtime. He threw up all the milk I gave him and had chills (pitiful). Fever was up to over 104 again. So, what did I do?, I called the nurse line again. They paged the doc on call (coincidentally, Dr. Hobbs - who probably thinks I'm crazy at this point). Same advice.

Yesterday was day #2 of fever. Brad took the morning shift and I went to work and relieved him at lunch. Arnold had a really good day, until the evening, when his fever was up a little again. Last night he was up from 1-3 am. Definitely feverish, although I did not check it (definitely under 105). Poor little guy.

Our Friend Fritz

We went to visit 8 week old Baby Fritz, Amber and Marc's baby. He and Arnold are going to be good pals. Emma Claire enjoyed "petting" him. He is not much smaller than little Arnold.

Arnold's Baptism

Arnold was baptized last Sunday at the 8:45 am "Traditional" service at Calvary. He wore George's Christening gown. Elissa and Adrian are his sponsors (aka. godparents). Pastor Matt was the minister.

Arnold was sweet and attentive during the ceremony, watching the Pastor as he spoke. All the grandparents were there, as were Elissa and the cousins (Adrian was out of town). It was a special service and event.

We came back to our house for a family brunch, where Paul, Chris, Laura and Marjorie joined us. It was a sunny, warmer Sunday. We enjoyed the baptism and the company afterwards.

Stats

Both Emma Claire and Arnold went in this Thursday for their 3 year and 6 month well child visits with Dr. Hobbs.

They both did great, until it came time for the dreaded s-h-o-t. When Emma Claire heard about this, she immediately went into panic mode. Had to hold her down on the table. She bounced back pretty quickly, though, when she remembered she could have her M&Ms and get a sucker and sticker.

The stats:

Emma Claire-

27 pounds (13%)

36 1/4" (31%)

Arnold-

15 pounds 9 ounces (10%)

35 3/4" (15%)

44 1/2 cm head (63%)

The only thing that is "average" is Arnold's head. Otherwise, both are pretty tiny.

Our Three Year Old Valentine

Emma Claire is officially three. It was a long weekend of celebrating with family and friends. Rowie, Opa, Auntie G, Uncle J and "Baby" George flew in last Friday for the Saturday birthday party and Sunday baptism for Arnold.

Emma Claire had been so excited about her birthday - and it finally arrived. She was a little sick for the big day, but managed to perk up for the party and had a ball. As soon as the first guest (Quinn) arrived, they wasted no time pulling out the "princess" dress up clothes. So, Emma Claire had a few wardrobe changes over the course of the "Tinkerbell" party.

Brad was the activity coordinator. He cut out pink fairy wings and pirate hats for the boys to decorate.

Emma Claire had 3 girls and 3 boys (Addie, Quinn, Ava,

Brennan, Jonah and George). The kids played in the basement, did their craft and headed up for cake and ice cream. Brad did a rendition of "Happy Birthday" on the sax while we sang. It was a fun group and a special party.

At three, Emma Claire seems so much more grown up, Even in the past couple of weeks, I think her vocabulary and what she says has

matured significantly. The things that come out of her mouth are so funny. I wish I could remember and record all of them. Her memory is surprisingly good. It is fun to hear her recall things from a long time ago.

Emma Claire is maybe growing out of the "twos" somewhat. Less meltdowns (although, a bit more "whining" recently). She is a sweet girl. All girl. Loves princesses, fairies, dress up, high heels, being "fancy", and playing mama to her dolls and to Arnold. Her favorite colors are, naturally, pink and purple. She has a very definite opinion as to what she wants to wear and how she wants to wear it on any given day. "I want to wear a beautiful dress", whether we are going to church or to the park.

Emma Claire is fairly cautious and pretty coordinated. She continues to take gymnastics now, and I look forward to dance lessons, ice skating, etc. in the near future and seeing what she enjoys and what her talents are. Rowie described Emma Claire as "like you when you were this age - precocious." I thought that was a good description.

Emma Claire makes us laugh every day. She has lots of fun energy. She loves school, her teachers and friends, Little Gym, Ms. Cindy's class (ECFE sibling care), Grace Place and her little weekly routine. She started her first Parks and Rec activity this week - Kids Club - on Wednesday mornings. She is always a little timid with anything new like this and didn't want me to leave, but after a little while she got into it and enjoyed it. When I picked her up, she said "I want to go back this afternoon".

On her actual birthday, Emma Claire and Arnold stayed home from school for a day of fun with Rowie and Opa. Opa made heart shaped "pop-eyes" (a childhood favorite of mine) and Rowie and Emma Claire made heart shaped chocolate chip cookies with M&M's. They had a fun day.

It was fun for me to think back to the day and the moment Emma Claire was born. We are blessed with two sweet, perfect children. Couldn't imagine life without them. They make our lives better and make us happy every day.

(A BIG thanks to Whitney for taking the great photos and for capturing moments that I would have never have been able to appreciate otherwise)

Opa

Emma Claire: "Opa is big and strong and sometimes he's a doctor"

They Day You Were Born

One of my favorite books of Emma Claire's is "On The Day You Were Born" by Debra Frasier. It is a story of every day miracles in nature that took place on the day she was born and the circle of people there to greet her.

"On the day you were born the round planet Earth turned toward your morning sky, whirling past darkness, spinning the night into light."

Brad told Emma Claire his version of how she was born last night. What I would give to have it recorded. He gave his account, in 3 year old terms, of the day she was born - starting when we checked in to the hospital on a cold, cold day to when she arrived and smiled at us for the first time. She listened and talked about how she met Rowie and Opa for the first time and was in the nursery and "cried". She asked who her teachers were in the nursery.

It was fun to hear Brad tell the story. We both vividly remember the events of that day - one of the two happiest days of our lives.

Emma Claire: Calvary Daily Note

Class Note:

We are hoping we came to an end with our stay inside days today! We started our day off with an introduction to car mountain. We were so excited to try it out and we did great following the rules for it. We also got a cool new tube structure for our sensory table. It is fun to watch how fast the ping pong balls roll out of them. We were pretty excited to play with an inflatable basketball and volleyball in the Muscle room. They were hard to hold on to but great for bouncing on. We took a walk around the church and climbed a lot of stairs. We finished our morning by running in Grace Place. We celebrated Emma Claire's 3rd birthday during snack! We sure do love cupcakes :-). Have a great night!

Report Card:

Emma Claire had a good day back. Ava called her birthday girl all day. She did get pretty worn out from running, so she took a break :-)

Arnold: Works of Art

I love, love, love Emma Claire and Arnold's artwork from school. It makes me smile.

Arnold is beginning to accumulate a "portfolio" of his own. Priceless, in my opinion :-)

Sick Days Aren't So Bad

Home today with a sick Emma Claire. Arnold went to school. Saw Dr. Hobbs (much to Emma Claire's dismay). She has a virus and an eye infection. She ended up doing great with Dr. Hobbs. No major incidents (probably didn't hurt that I promised "Old McDonalds" afterwards.
That is just what we did.

McDonalds drive thru. Books on the couch. Ratatouille. Nap in my arms in her rocker "I want to go to my room and rock". Don't know the last time she wanted to do that.

Peaceful. Quiet. Glad we're home today.

Weekend Woes

Emma Claire woke up in the night on Friday "spitting up" (as she calls it) in my bed (I always have her sleep with me when Brad is out of town).

Stripped our bed, got in the shower with her at 1am. Back to her bed.

Saturday am - changed Arnold's diaper prematurely, which made for a big mess all over him and the changing table. To the shower I go with Arnold. (as the shower was heating up, Arnold decided he wasn't finished yet, all over our bed - "that's not the plan, Arnold!", says Emma Claire). Thank goodness at least the mattress pad was still on. He did manage to get it on our box spring cover, though. Mattress cover off. Mattress off. Box spring cover off... Emma Claire: "Arnold pooped and I spit up on that".

LOTS of laundry to do.

Apparent police activity in the neighborhood Friday night, also. I find this out through Whitney, who is in Key West (this is what I get for not being on Facebook) - robbery at Good Day Cafe, I guess.

Emma Claire better Saturday day, followed by a fever Saturday evening.

Sunday, she perked up again.

Arnold woke up from his morning nap in a HUGE mess in his crib (all smiles, by the way). Dawned on me at this point that he must have a touch of the stomach bug too.

Strip Arnold's crib. Off to the shower we go - again.

MORE laundry.

Everyone is fairly happy in the afternoon.

1 am Monday - Emma Claire wakes up shivering, - 102 fever.

Arnold is up twice in the night - happy, awake, wanting to play (I think he is working on crawling and that, along with the stomach issue, is interrupting his sleep. My "theory" anyway).

No work for me today. Hate to call people at 6am with the "can you work for me today" call.

Brad is in sunny Palm Springs this weekend. Looking forward to his return tonight.

Fun With Cleaning Gloves

Emma Claire loves to play with the blue latex gloves we have around here for cleaning. She finds lots of creative uses for fun with them. (Just prior to this shot, Arnold had them on both of his feet.)

Party Planning...

Emma Claire is SUPER excited about her birthday this year. She asks every day if it is her birthday yet. I think it is especially fun this year because she is really into the "party planning". She has chosen a Tinkerbell theme. We went to The Cake Box this morning to pick out the cake. She wanted a "chocolate" one with "lots of colors" and "sprinkles". The cake we ended up with was Tinkerbell with chocolate frosting and chocolate filling (with a raspberry cream). My child for sure. On the way home I asked if she wanted ice cream and what flavor. She, naturally, chose chocolate. I suggested we do sprinkles on the ice cream and she said, very loudly, "no, I already though of that, that is MY idea!".
We plan to pick out the decorations and party favors on Friday.

Sledding at Theo Wirth

We had some sunshine and more tolerable temps over the weekend, so we met the Knaufs at Theo Wirth for sledding.

The girls loved it. Arnold - not so much. He hung in there for a few minutes, then Suzanne and I sat in the warm car with him and sipped hot chocolate while the Daddies took over sledding duty.

Addie and Emma Claire enjoyed the double tube. Down, and up they went over and over and over.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Six Months Old

Arnold is 6 months old today (on Groundhog Day). We have a dream baby. Arnold is the sweetest, happiest little thing. He just makes me giggle.

Arnold smiles all the time. From the time he wakes (or we wake him) in the morning, to when he wakes in the middle of the night, he is smilin'. I love his closed mouth grins. If he is unhappy, you can be sure that he needs something, or something is bothering him. Rarely fusses or complains. Just goes along wherever we go and sits in his little carrier, content to be here.

He giggles, especially in reaction to Emma Claire. I have to work to make him laugh, but she just has to be present for him to laugh. Emma Claire is so attentive and helpful with Arnold. She loves him and he is taken with her. When he is in his carrier, she is always leaning over him, right in his face and he loves it (even though, I am sure he is somewhat smothered). Emma Claire calls him "hun". "Hi hun,", "It's OK, hun", "Here ya go, hun". I am not sure where she picked this up, because we never call anyone "hun". She also uses it when she talks to Rudy.

Arnold is, so far, our sleeper. He loves his crib. I can put him down awake and he falls asleep on his own (a skill Emma Claire, to this day, has not developed). He is waking once a night, most nights, but readily falls back to sleep after a snack. (although, he slept thought the past two nights - yay!)

Arnold loves to roll, and roll, and roll lately. He is rolling to reach toys and apparently, he rolled halfway across the room at school one day this week. He really reaches for things and is interested in different textures now. He gives BIG hugs. He is teething and also likes to "teeth" on my chin. I can feel two bottom teeth just barely poking through.

Arnold is a good eater so far. The rice cereal didn't go so well at first, but once he got the hang of it, he took off. He loves his meals now. We have moved from rice cereal to oatmeal now. I think sweet potatoes are in his near future.

Arnold LOVES his feet. He is perfectly content to lay on the floor and play with his feet.

He is beginning to react to emotions. He and Emma Claire take baths together. A couple nights ago, Emma Claire cried (as typical) when I washed her hair. Arnold looked at her, then looked at me. His bottom lip flipped out and he started crying. He gets upset when Emma Claire takes away a toy he is playing with.

Arnold is still on the verge of sitting up independently. He does fairly well, but tends to topple after a few seconds.

He loves the dogs and really reacts to them. They love him, too. When he is on the floor, they can't resist licking him like crazy. He smiles and reaches for them. Even Rudy is patient when Arnold grabs his fur.

I think Arnold is a week or two away from scooting/crawling. He is really getting strong and more mobile with his rolling (or, maybe he will just roll to get where he needs to). I just can't believe how big he is getting. It all happens so quickly.

Positive Thought

January is behind us and February is a short (and busy) month.
Belinda Jensen says that we gain 1 hour and 15 minutes of sunlight this month! There are signs of hope, even though tomorrow's high is 9.