Seven Months

Seven months has flown by since Baby Emmett joined our fam.  SEVEN MONTHS.  These months went by so fast that I didn't even notice this fact until Monday.  As in, this Monday the 20th.  I know, I know.  Third child syndrome.  Or, maybe it was because I felt like a crap sandwich last week and then spent the weekend running and recovering from the run and the day full of rain.  exEither way, I still managed to snap a few pictures of our cutie w/the token seven month sign.  I love how redneck I am.  Yes, that is crayon.  I couldn't find a pen.  Awesome.

Bug eyed flash face.

 Seven months brought a few milestones for Emmett.  First, he is really, really trying to crawl.  He had been sticking to tumbleweeding as a mode of transportation up until the last few weeks.  Now he pops up on to all fours and rocks back and forth.  He follows that sweet move by falling to his tummy and "swimming."  I could barely capture the rocking with the camera and am still working on capturing the swim. 

Proof that he is almost crawling. This is rocking.

 Emmett also celebrated his seven month birthday by getting his own room.  Up until now his cozy home was our closet.  Hold the jokes people and don't call CPS yet.  Our closet was the size of the kids rooms in the old Fall City house so it was far from child abuse.  I think he actually misses his cozy little bungalow because he has been waking up at night the last few days.  Dare I say it?  I actually don't mind getting up with him.  I know he is our last so I spend a little extra time in there with him propped up on my shoulder and we rock cheek-to-cheek.  I love those cheekies.  See, no child abuse here.

I love his chubby little profile.

 Are you wondering how Emmett got promoted to his own room?  Well, the big kids now share a room.  We figured since they spent their evenings talking under their respective doors to eachother we might as well put them together.  So far the transition has been better than I expected.  It took them two hours to fall asleep the first two days and only 50 minutes tonight.  Progress.  They even will nap in there together if I sit in there until they fall asleep.  So, that is why the blog has been lean again.  I am monitoring our new room situations.  Oh joy!

 

Baby toes!

Seven months also brought drool.  I think I have been blaming teething for many things over the last months but maybe this really is a sign that he is starting to teethe.  Cause there is a lot of drool.  He also has come down with his first runny nose.  He has had colds in the past, but nothing like the drainage we are dealing with the last couple of days.  I know, between the drool and runny nose he is gooey these days.  Ew.

He gets clothes on, rolls away from the camera and eats the sign.

Fall City Days

Brett in the "dump tank."

 Fall City Days was also on Saturday.  Well, our Saturday looked like this.  Brett and I were in the car by 6:45 a.m. in order to get to Fall City and set up the dunk tank and booth with the firefighters.  Once the booth was up, we suited up to run.  Him a 10K, me the 5K.  Run finished.  Showered and then meet Brett's parents with the kids to get them in a firetruck for the parade.  Parade finished.  Back to the station for a BBQ and then over to man the booth for the rest of the day.  Whew. 

The booth was a hit.  Kids were lined up and ready to dunk the firefighters.  One of those kids being a very excited Brooklyn.  She talked all week about dunking Daddy in the "dump tank."  Sadly, the kiddos were too cranky to wait until Brett's turn to be on the hot seat so she dunked Scott instead.  (Thank you to Brett's parents for hanging out with them at home for the rest of the day!) Brett's grandparents also made the drive over and brought Brett's cousin Morgan to see the parade and to dunk Brett, of course.  Aside from the constant rain, the firefighters had a blast and were able to pass out a bunch of fliers, hats and information to the kids in attendance.
 

Brett getting ready to be dunked!

There was always a line.

Our sweet booth.  Darn rain.

The brothers.

Emmett is a little too close for Jameson's comfort.

Jameson reached his limit.

I asked her to smile.  Instead I get a sweet pose.

5K. Check.

Done, completed, finished.  I did it!  Completed my first ever 5K on Saturday with a finish time of 30 minutes even.  It was MISERABLE.  Running wasn't hard, it was the rain and rain and more rain.  It poured!  I guess I should have done a practice run in the rain.  I was not ready for it at all.  Water sneaked down my headphones directly in to my ear canal.  Very unpleasant. 

Complaining aside, I was very proud of myself.  I ran the entire race (my biggest fear was having to walk) and didn't finish last.  Goal accomplished.  But, now I have running fever.  Meaning I want to sign up for another race.  I'd like to do another 5K and then start training for a 10K.  I mean, why not?  I would also like to take swim lessons...yes, swim lessons, so I can try a triathlon.  I am terrified of open water but am thinking if I can learn to swim and conquer an open water swim, I can eliminate a fear.  Again, why not?  So, we'll see what I can find as far as my next running adventure.  Let's hope it isn't raining then too.

Pictures?  Where are the pictures for proof?  Well, I am the one behind the camera so I don't have any proof.  I can tell you that I wore a sweet #399 bib and looked like a drowned rat by the end.  Use your imagination.      

Graduation Day

It was hardly a graduation, but Brooklyn's last day of preschool felt like a big event to me.  While driving there I just couldn't believe that an entire school year had gone by.  I was so nervous in September on how the school year would go and here I was driving to her last day.  She was all smiles and energy and I was trying to hold back tears.  I am going to have to toughen up because there are a whole lot of last day's of school in my future.  She had a blast at her last day of school party and as we were walking to the car she shouted, "Yeah, I'm in Pre-K!"  This statement included a fist pump.  That's my girl.

Brooklyn w/her teachers...such a ham.

Brooklyn & Justine

The girls.

So excited to have a cupcake!

Sand art.

Still wearing coats in JUNE.

Bink and Anthony (her buddy).

 

Hospitals are SO fun!

Lots and lots of sarcasm has been dripped on the title of this post.  I DESPISE hospitals.  On Tuesday, I spent my entire evening at Evergreen Hospital only to go home with a shoulder shrug from the doctor.  My diagnosis?  Abdominal Pain - unknown cause.  Wow - I knew that going in.  The doctor did point out that my CT Scan showed arthritis/degenerative disk disease in my back.  No surprise, I kindly redirected him to the fact that my guts hurt, not my back.  Or, my guts hurt more than my back.  ;)  Lame.  He then literally shrugged his shoulders and told me to go home.  SO happy I sat there for four hours reading a five year old Sports Illustrated.  Ugh.  I knew that after I posted that training for my 5k was going swell something would happen.  Screw that, I need to readjust my thinking.  Positive thinking brings positive things, right?  So, I am going to convince myself that Saturday I will feel like a dynamo and will kick ass...even if I couldn't even ride a stationary bike for half and hour today and still feel like I got punched in the guts.  Awesome.

I will blog more when my brain is in a much less whiney place.  Lots to catch up on, Brooklyn had her last day of preschool!  

5K Training Update

So, my first 5K is coming up on the 18th.  It is circled on the calendar and I am getting excited because I have become quite the runner.  (insert self back pat here.)  I am shocked to find that I actually enjoy it.  Pretty crazy.  I even trained on the treadmill this week several times.  I had been avoiding the treadmill like the plague because I used to hate running on it but after training outside for weeks, I thought I'd give it a try and didn't mind it.  So, now you know why there hasn't been many updates.  Going in to this training process I was honestly predicting that I'd fail (I know, how optimistic) or injure myself.  I guess there is still time... 

Sun

Sun makes my world so much better.  The kids can play outside ALL day (covered in multiple layers of sunscreen...of course) which makes them take long naps and sleep all night.  Ahhh.  Then the rain comes back.  (insert fist shaking here)  So, while the rain pours, I'll blog about when it was sunny. 

On Saturday it was warm enough to break out the pool.  We have a wading pool and the kids lost their minds when it was time to fill 'er up.  Brooklyn kept shouting, "Is it summer?  Is it summer?"  Emmett likes being outside but wasn't too sure about having his toes in the grass.  He eventually got used to it and had dirty feet in no time.  Brett and I were laughing because on Sunday (after playing outside all afternoon) we packed the kiddos into their jogging strollers and went for a quick run.  They looked homeless.  They were filthy.  I am sure other parents understood but people without kids probably thought we just creeped outta the woods.  Maybe I will at least rinse off their feet next time. Nah.

Fireman Jameson took his job VERY seriously.

Wild child with dirt in her eyes.

Toes in the grass.

 

Duvall Firestation Pancake Breakfast

On Sunday Brett was home for an entire day, a rare thing these days, so we maximized our fun.  We headed out early to stop by the Duvall Fire Department for their annual pancake breakfast.  It was their 51st year putting it on and our first attending.  It was packed!  We skipped out on breakfast because, let's face it, with the three kiddos in tow, waiting in line wasn't going to happen.  But we were able to see new fire trucks and the kids were able to spray the hose to put out the "fire."  They had a super fun time.  It happens every June so if you live in the area, mark your calendars for next year.

Waitin' in line w/Dad.

Checkin' out the firetruck.

Sweet house on "fire."  BEFORE

AFTER

Firefighter Brooklyn Krache

Firefighter Jameson Krache

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Last Friday I got together with "the ladies" (as Brooklyn calls them) for a May birthday celebration.  Two of our birthdays fall in May so of course we met up for some Mexican food.  What does this have to do with Snickerdoodle Cupcakes?  Well, my friend Tarah brought Trophy cupcake samplers and I fell in love, LOVE, with the Snickerdoodle variety.  Thanks Tarah.  I think... 

I searched through a ton of cupcake recipes and combined two that I found and tried it out today.  I knew I was having dinner with my Grandparents, and Snickerdoodle cookies are my Papa Tom's favorite, so it seemed like a natural fit. 

It was a distant cousin to the Trophy version and was much closer to a Snickerdoodle cookie in texture/taste.  Trophy's was more of a strudel/muffin.  I will definitely make these again but I think I would swap out the frosting I tried today for my favorite White Chocolate Cream Cheese base but add the cinnamon.  Or, maybe a fluffy Cinnamon Buttercream would be a better fit.  This frosting was a little too cream cheesey for me...but my taste testers didn't complain.  :)  Try it out and let me know what you think!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

CAKE:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups whole milk

FROSTING:

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 pound powdered sugar, sifted

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

TOPPING:

2 Tablespoons sugar + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 24 muffin tins with paper liners.

2.  Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

3.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in vanilla.  Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with additions of milk, beating until combined after each addition.

4.  Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about 3/4 full.  Bake about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

5.  Prepare frosting.  In a medium bowl, use electric mixer to blend cream cheese and butter.  Add sugars, vanilla and ground cinnamon.  Spread onto cooled cupcakes, or scoop into piping bag and pipe on the frosting decoratively.  Place sugar/cinnamon mixture in a fine sieve and tap it lightly over the cupcakes to given them a light sparkle. 

I Stink I Have One Question

Brooklyn has been very curious lately about why people are different.  She has said things in public (very loudly) like, "Why is that woman round like a cupcake?" And, "Why does that man have a weird leg?"  So, we have been working hard to teach her that everyone is different and that pointing out how they are different might hurt their feelings.  We encourage her to ask questions, but to ask them in the car or at home.  Not while we are standing right next to them. 

During one of these particularly intense conversations I looked at Brett and knew we were both thinking the same thing, it is FINALLY sinking in.  She was really engaging in the conversation and making great eye contact.  I thought to myself, whew, public embarrassment is over. 

Brooklyn then said:  "I stink I have onnnnne question." 
Me:  "Okay, shoot."
Brooklyn:  "What kind of animals live in the forest?" 

Conversation over.  So much for our effective life lesson.

Puppies, Unicorns & Rainbows

If only life guaranteed puppies, unicorns & rainbows all the time.  I try to focus on the positive in this happy little blog but the truth is, parenting has a lot of ups and an equal amount of downs.  A major down in our house lately is bedtime.  Sounds pretty simple but has proved to be quite complicated.  We have stubborn, stubborn kids.  They are soooo tired yet they will not go to sleep.  Well, the older ones that is.  Emmett is down for the count by 7:00 p.m. without so much as a peep.  Brooklyn and Jameson "party" in their rooms for hours.  If you are thinking that we are putting them down too early, you are wrong.  They are so tired but they like to fight it off.  Super annoying. 

I had given in the partying because one can only yell so much.  That is until last night.  Brooklyn started sobbing two hours in to her party for one so I went to check on her and she had pushed her window open (a feat for me) and had popped her screen out.  Got chills?  Imagine being me.  I was so angry, scared and angry again.  I scolded her and promptly jammed a piece of wood to block the opening of the window until Brett is back to install a second locking mechanism.  My first real life panic attack followed.  My brain flooded with all of the horrible things that could have happened.  Ugh.  Parenting.

So, today I became Mini-Kim.  My mom used to sit above the spiral staircase (you read that right, a sweeeet pink spiral staircase to boot) and say, "I can still hear you." to my sister and me in our tiny bunkbeds until we were in high school.  We would try so hard to whisper so she wouldn't hear us but her super sonic hearing would prove us wrong every time.  Now, here I am sitting in a chair in the hallway outside my kids room.  While sitting there I am hoping, praying, that I won't be sitting there until they are in high school.  But with our chatterboxes, it will probably be college.  Goodbye evenings, hello night security job.