Snaggle Tooth

Sooner than I'd hoped or imagined, Kate lost her first tooth!  Not sure why I thought that this milestone was normally reached during first grade, but apparently that isn't the case anymore.  One of my best friends has a little boy who is a few months younger than Kate.  When I saw that he'd lost his first tooth back in the summer, I knew it wasn't too far off for Kate.

Apparently I was right.

When school let out for fall break, one of Kate's bottom teeth was loose, but not incredibly so.  For her first full day out of school, she must have wiggled that tooth all day! That is all we can figure because when she got home that evening, this tooth was barely hanging on!  She asked her Daddy to pull it, so he tied a string around it and 2 seconds later, it was out.  For the girl who is blood and pain averse (as in, she dramatically overreacts to nearly everything!), she did great. 

She was so excited to put the tooth by her bedside and for the tooth fairy to visit her. The next morning she woke up to a note and a $5 bill.  Her first reaction was "I'm gonna leave this tooth here again tonight so the tooth fairy can come back!"  Ha! Smart girl.  I was quick to tell her that it didn't work out that way. 

But look at this! Can't believe how grown up she is getting lately.  I better stop blinking or she'll be in high school.

Farm Fun

Last weekend Kristi, Davis, Kevin, the kids, and myself drove over to Denver Downs, which is a huge farm near Clemson University.  The fall farm fun activities have grown bigger and bigger over the years, and there is so much there for everyone to enjoy.  Our original plan for the weekend was to go to Carowinds, because Kate has been betting us to go there for well over a year.  However, Hurricane Matthew put a damper on this plans (literally) as the rains moved through Charlotte.  Denver Downs was our second choice and it did NOT disappoint.

We hit up the corn maze, but didn't make it too far in because (1) we didn't want to get too lost and (2) we had to get back for the pig races.  Seriously.  I can't make this stuff up.

There was time to test out the big trampoline type thing firs though. (I have no clue what this thing is really called, but it was fun!)

I ended up having to go out there with Karsten and she spent her whole time running away from me.

Next up were the corn boxes. I have to say, this is a pretty great idea.  Sort of like a sandbox, but WITHOUT THE SAND.  Can I get an "amen"?

There was also a hay loft that was set up with all kinds of fun stuff near the top - rope swings, horse swings, etc!

And of course some rides...

After the hay ride, we called it a day.  Karsten skipped her nap so she was beyond tired, and it was also a million degrees outside, but we had a blast in spite of the heat.  Until next year, Denver Downs! I know we'll be back.

A Frozen Birthday

We had a small family party to celebrate Karsten's 2nd birthday and the "theme" was Frozen. Of course.  I mean really. What else would work for this Frozen-obsessed toddler? 

I decorated a table and placed some of the characters from Frozen around our house and that was pretty much it.  When Karsten saw the table, her face was priceless. 

"Is that Anna!?! Is that Elsa!?!"

I had to put some movie quotes on there too.  Of course Kevin and I are probably the only ones that "got" them since we can quote the entire movie...

This girl can be shy, but she LOVED it when we sang Happy Birthday to her. 

And opening presents was hilarious. She had to stick her head inside the bag to see if she got everything.

Karsten got a doll set that had both an Elsa and an Anna doll in it.  Kate, of course, "helped" Karsten open her presents and when she pulled out this particular one she said "Karsten! We EACH got a doll!" Ha.

Loved her expressions!

My Grandmother stayed with my parents last week when she had to leave her house due to Hurricane Matthew.  She had never been to our house and we were so thankful that she was able to celebrate this special day with so much of our other family.

Love my family, and love this little girl that we celebrated. Can't believe she is TWO!

Happy 2nd Birthday Karsten!

Today Karsten is two. Exactly two years ago our family changed in the best possible way, and we didn't even have a clue!

Karsten was already 1 day old when we found out about her.  On October 6, 2014, our daughter was  born, and we didn't even know it.  But God did!  He knew His plan for her at the beginning of time and knew that she would be our daughter and Kate's sister.

We just knew we were praying for a baby; God knew we were praying for Karsten.

What an unbelievable two years it has been, and what an honor to see this snuggly little baby grow into a sweet, funny, loving TWO year old! I'm so thankful to be her Mama, and thankful to be able to watch Kevin as her Daddy and Kate as her sister.

So - what is she up to now?  Here's a quick little rundown on Karsten lately...

1. She can count to 20, most of the time. Occasionally she'll skip a few numbers but is pretty consistent!

2. She knows her ABC's and we didn't teach her! Pretty sure Kate taught her this. Yay for big sisters.

3. She can spell her name... and Kate's.

4. She can identify a few colors: red, pink, blue, yellow and orange.

5. She loves, loves, LOVES her bunny.  We actually have 3 of the same bunnies now. One stays at Nana's house, one is at our house, and one is a backup in her closet (just in case).

6. She still sleeps with her paci. This is the only time she gets it, and I have great plans to take it away from her very soon, but for now, she gets the paci. And we get to sleep. So it is a win/win.

7. She wears size 2t clothes and is in a Size 7 shoe. She is still in Size 4 diapers. (As a comparison, Kate was in Size 5 diapers when she turned one.)

8. She is still so tender hearted! Just telling her "No" causes her to bust out in tears like her world is ending. You'd think she would be mad at you for saying no, but she just wants to be picked up and cuddled.

9. We have started doing time out with her in the last 6 months or so, and she is serious about time out! She sticks that nose ALL the way in the corner and doesn't move.

10. She has recently started showing an interest in books. She has always liked books, but it's been in an independent kind of way. Until recently she's always just wanted to flip through them on her own and look at the pictures at her own pace. Recently, she has really started letting me read to her while she listens to the story. I hope she find a great love in reading!

11. She is still a mama's girl.  She loves me, and loves for me to hold her. And of course I love it too. One of my favorites is being at church and having people come up to talk to her.  She will look at them and say "My name's Karsten" and then point to her arms, where she is holding bunny and say "This is Bunny" and then point to me and say "This is Mommy".

12. She loves to swim, but of course now it is finally too cold for that. Kate got a 3 pack of speedo goggles recently, and Karsten LOVES to wear them around the house.  She will leave them on for hours.

13. She is still obsessed with Frozen everything - Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Sven, and even Prince Hans. Obsessed. Enough said.

14. She loves to sing, and it makes me so happy to hear the songs she sings.  A few nights ago on our way to church, we had the radio turned off so we could talk. Kevin and I were having a conversation and from the backseat I hear Karsten sing out "Thank you, oh my Father, for giving us your Son and leaving your Spirit 'til the work on earth is done."  Gotta love hearing your kid sing about Jesus! (The song is Redeemer, by Kutless.)

This is the girl that made us a family of four.  She our sweet, tender hearted, dramatic, Frozen-obsessed little girl and we love her so much!  Happy birthday to this TWO year old!