11/1 Ilea's first Assessment at school. She was tested against 4 yr olds, because that is the class she is in, even though a few have just turned 5, and she won't be 4 until next week. Academically she's fine, scoring 90 out of 100. Socially, she's still a little shy. She sometimes doesn't answer when the teachers call on her. She also likes routine, and sometimes has problems when they try something new. But she follows rules well, and respects the teacher. They are getting used to Ilea and vice versa, and it seems to be going well. Ilea does love it, and is starting to move away from Victoria a little more (that is, My-Best-Friend-Victoria). The teacher seemed to like Ilea, and I feel good about the way she is able to handle her. During the table work, they separate the girls now, and Ilea is used to that and does better work.

10/29 On Sun, Jenny went in to get Ilea from Quiet Time. She said she had talked to God and Jesus. My heart warmed, thinking of the wonderful thoughts she might share with me. Ilea said that she told God she wanted to have chocolate vitamins like me when she grew up! I take Viactiv Calcium, and she can't wait!

Exciting day yesterday. I was taking groceries out of the car and a jar of salsa broke through the bottom of the bag, shattering on the concrete floor of the garage. I got salsa all over the leg of my khakis, and had to clean the garage. I didn't trust Kyler inside that long, and didn't want him in the glass or salsa, so when I backed the car out to clean up the mess, I left him in the car. Good thing I kept the keys because he locked the doors! After cleaning up the mess, we went inside to clean me up. He was in the bedroom while I changed my pants and rinsed them out. Maybe 2 minutes. When I came in the room, he jumped away from the bed. I looked, and there was an open bottle of fingernail polish and the lid on the sheets! None had spilled, but then I noticed where he had painted on the white bedspread. A few minutes later, I notice that there is a red smudge on his cheek, by his mouth. Turns out there is fingernail polish all over his lips, and on his cheek! He ate it! I don't know if the bedspread was painting, or trying to wipe it out of his mouth! Poison control said that happens a lot, and he'd have to eat a lot to hurt himself. So I guess he's fine.

10/23 It's been a long month. The last weekend in Sept Jenny went on a field trip with the handbell choir up to Lynden. We spent the night up there and played for a church. The current music pastor was an intern at our church a few years ago. It was really fun.

The next weekend, Kyler had a fever. By Sun night and Mon it was getting worse (105.3). We finally found out he had an ear infection, the first one in our house! Antibiotics helped a lot. We've discovered than any sickness really upsets Kyler's sleeping, and therefore, ours too. It took almost 2 weeks before he was sleeping through the night again!

Kipp has had a lot to do at work too. They are trying to get a new project released, and he's been working some evenings. His lead has gone to talk to customers, leaving Kipp in charge while he's gone.

But we did manage to have a really fun weekend. On Oct 12, Agneiszka and Nathan gave Jenny a present of all day babysitting! Jenny and Aga play bells together. They were over here by 9:30 am! We had beautiful weather, and went into the city for a day. We drove a little downtown, and then went shopping at Westlake Center. It was a great day. We went to Starbucks for lunch, and then to a movie at the Cinerama. We saw Red Dragon, which was pretty good, if scary. Out of 10 years, we have never been to Green Lake, so we finally went there late afternoon. It was so pretty! It was getting cool in the wind, but very sunny still, and a great time. We weren't planning on walking all the way around, but we had time, and just kept going. It's 2.8 miles around the lake, and it was perfect. Tons of people out walking, jogging, with kids, babies, everything. Then we went to dinner at a place called The Rhododendron. Not exactly what we expected, but it was an OK atmosphere, and great food. Finally, a stop by Barnes and Noble (didn't want to get home before the kids were in bed!) to look at some books and magazines. It was such a great, relaxing, romantic day! Aga and Nathan survived pretty well, taking the kids to a park, playing outside, even giving them baths before bed! What troopers! Everything was quiet when we got home! It was the best gift I've had in a long time. See below for details of my real birthday!

Last weekend, 10/19, we went to the pumpking patch. It was fun, and there are lots of pictures. We've carved one, and are going to wait with the others. The costumes are done, and Jenny is excited. Kyler will be a clown, and Ilea is a butterfly.

10/13 - Kyler seemed to be asking Kipp what he had in his hand. Kipp said, "It's pizza", and Kyler said, "Welcome!"
Often, when we tell Kyler to say thank you, he'll say Welcome.
10/10 Kyler was sitting in Jenny's lap watching TV. A song came on, and he leaned forward, then flung his head back, cutting the inside of her lip, and giving her a huge black and blue fat lip! It was purple for a week!

Kyler is saying many words. He calls Ilea La-la. He also knows bus, truck, & car. He's a pretty happy guy, unless he doesn't get his own way. He has way more tantrums than Ilea ever did! He will scream or throw himself on the floor. I mostly ignore it, but it's not fun. So far we haven't really had one in public, but I'm sure it will happen soon. He is a big climber, using many tools. He uses the stepstools, but they are not high enough. So he uses Ilea's booster chair or his high chair, pushing it to the counter he needs to get to, and reaching anything he wants. He can open all the drawer baby locks, and loves to turn on and off light switches. He also loves to bug Ilea by grabbing her favorite animals. His first complete sentence was, "I'm a mess!" The first complete sentence I heard from his friend Koji, who is 5 weeks older, was "I broke it!". On the other side, he snuggles way more than Ilea ever did too. He comes for hugs once in a while, and just wants to lay his head on your shoulder. Or give a kiss. He's very affectionate.

Ilea is doing great in school. Each child has a bag they bring to school every day with their name on it. They send fliers and schoolwork home in it. There is a newsletter about every 2 weeks. She has learned to write her name with lower case letters, and has learned a few signs. We had a minor crisis this week. The first assessment didn't go so well because she didn't want to talk to the teacher. The kids are supposed to be assessed before parent-teacher conferences. But Ilea wouldn't talk to the teacher. Mrs. Kinney had pulled Ilea out one-on-one to play a game, but Ilea wouldn't look at her, or talk, and finally started shaking and said she had a headache. The teacher tried last Friday, and 2 times on Mon. Well, once, and the second time she approached Ilea she started doing it, so the teacher didn't even try. Today, she had Victoria come, even though she had already been tested, and apparently that worked. We'll see how the year goes. Hopefully it will get better. Ilea always says how much she loves Mrs. Kinney.

Ilea is a peacemaker. She wants people to be happy. When I get really frustrated at Kyler, she asks if I love her. I tell her yes, of course. She asks if it makes me happy when she says she loves me. It breaks my heart, and I vow once again not to raise my voice, even at Kyler, no matter how mad he's making me. Kyler loves to push my buttons too!

10/1 Kyler was fingerpainting on his tray with his food! It was horrible! Kipp asked him, "What do you think you are doing?", and Kyler said, "Mess!"

9/26 This morning he was playing with a cup that Ilea has that has a small hat on it. I was so proud of him for being able to put the peg of the hat into a small hole in the top of the cup. A few minutes later he is standing next to me, turning red and gagging. He throws up, but doesn't lean over, so starts to choke even worse on that also! I bent him over, and scooped the hat out of his mouth. Now I'm hoping we'll actually be able to go a week at a time without going to the dr! So I threw the hat away, and resolved once again to keep an even closer eye on him. I kind of thought he was done eating small objects. But I guess not.

9/24 Well, we had our first visit to the urgent care today, but probably not the last! You can probably guess that it was because of Kyler! He was playing with a Santa Hat, pulling it down over his eyes. He got on the couch, stood up quickly, and somehow lost his balance. He flipped right over the end and landed head first on Ilea's plastic crown (just missing the fireplace, which still has a blanket on it, and now will have it on for quite a while more!). He was screaming bloody murder, bleeding, and wouldn't let me touch it. There was a very big purple/black knot. I called a friend who came right over. Christina took one look and said, "You need to take him in." So she took Ilea and we raced down to the urgent care. By then of course, he was feeling fine (after a bottle), and looking all around the waiting room. I was almost ready to go when a nurse came just to check him. She looked at the knot also, and said a dr. should take a look because it's so large, but they were short drs, and it would be about an hour wait! It's 1:30 by now, and that's his nap time. Good luck with a 1 yr old, waiting for an hour at naptime! So I went up to Pediatrics (who told Christina they were full, and I should try the urgent care), and begged them to let any dr or nurse just check Kyler out. They got me in immediately (I felt a little guilty, although there wasn't really anyone waiting on the well kid side - only 2 on the other side), and his regular dr even had time to come check. Did I mention Kyler has his 18 mo. well baby appt on Fri? Dr West said he didn't need stitches, but any head or face injury, especially with a big knot, it's good to bring them in. He glued on a fancy strip bandage, with another on top of the whole thing. Close call - could have been his eye poked out with that crown.

That's all for now, the first of many sagas with Kyler, the wounded hero!

9/20 We finally finished painting the house! It took over 180 hours. Kipp put in about 120, and Jenny 61 (the other 60 were in childcare!) It looks great, but we sure don't want to do that again!

Sept: Ilea taught Kyler to say COOKIE whenever he sees Fred Meyer, which Ilea calls the cookie store.

Sept: Ilea loves preschool. She is so shy at church I was worried, but no problems. Probably because of Victoria. They told us to wear red on 9/13, when Clifford came to visit the class. They send home a newsletter every 2 weeks, which is the start of every new theme. They also send e-mail reminders. They are very organized, and I'm impressed with the fun things they do. Before Clifford came, there were "spottings" of him behind a tree, and other glimpses by the teacher. They "called" Emily Elizabeth, Clifford's owner in the books, and saw signs of him in class before the big visit. Pretty good way to start out the year!

In Sept, Ilea told Jenny, Did youknow Jesus dies and rose again? That's very cool mom.

Sept: Kyler loves bead necklaces. He's also become obsessed with Ilea's pink slip on shoes, and loves to strut around in them. Last night he started adding her crown to the whole picture. Kipp's not really worried, but not thrilled either. I know he'll grow out of it. He also loves to push her pink stroller. Of course he had a lawn mower, but he really likes the stroller.

9/28 - Ilea told Kipp, I love my dentist. He's a very cool guy.

9/15 Last night we were woken by the kids SIX TIMES!!!! 4 by Kyler, and 2 by Ilea. She had a bad dream at 2:45, and at 6:20 wanted to show Kipp a picture. We still don't know what was wrong with Kyler at 1:05, 1:40, 2:00, 3:45. Someone said it was as bad as nursing, but neither kid was ever that bad nursing! I took the first 2 times, Kipp the next 3, and I took the last one. We were zombies.

9/14 Ilea to Dad, with no shirt on: Dad, you need to get some more clothes on! You're half naked!

9/13 Ilea has been to Preschool 4 times now. Fri afternoon she asks me if I think Mrs. Kinney (her teacher) is sad.
Mom: Why? Was she sad today?

I: No

M: Did you do something to make her sad?

I: No, I did good things to make her happy.

M: Did someone else make her sad?

I: No. I just wonder if she misses me.

M: I'm sure she does miss you! I'm sure she has other friends to help keep her happy over the weekend, too.

8/7 Ilea spelling out loud: I - L - E -

Kyler shouts "A!"

Ilea says, "That's right Kyler, A!"

Often, when I release Ilea's car seat straps, I tell her to go out Kyler's way, and shut the door and go around. When I get to Kyler's side, she's standking over him saying "Ah boo-boo-boo-boo!", trying to get him to laugh.

8/5 Ilea comes into my room in the morning and said, "Mama, I think it's a new day!"

8/3-4 Kyler climbs ladders in our yard while we're painting.

8/1 - I was changing Kyler and he was being very fussy, so Ilea says, "I'll go get him something - Here Kylers, it's your chewey thing" (purple teether). I told her that it used to be HER favorite chewy thing. She said, "NOW my favorite is baby bunny!" She always eats breakfast with baby bunny watching from the couch behind her.

8/1 Dewey (Kipp's co-worker) left his car here and rode with Kipp. Ilea saw it and said, "What a pretty car! It has beauniful lights! Look at the beauniful lights! I love this car."

8/1 Ilea can recite Madeline almost 100%. She has a few words off, but has the majority of the pages word for word. She looks at the pictures and says the words that go with that page. NOTE: It was a library book, and we turned it in in Aug. On Sept 17, while Ed and Brenda were here, Ilea recited almost the whole book by memory for them! I helped to prompt her in a few places, but she remembered the whole thing, word for word! We haven't had that book for weeks, and she had no pictures to help her!

Ileaspeak: Cookie Store = Fred Meyer

Ice Cream Store = Starbucks (frappacino ice cream)

Pizza Store = Dominos

7/21 Interesting birthday for Jenny. We pressure washed the house on Fri and Sat. We also found out Fri that Kipp's Tercel has a crack in the engine block, and can't really be driven any more. It's been leaking oil for a while, and now we really know why. Now it's Sun. We went to church in the morning. When we got home, even though it was a warm (90's) day, Kipp asked if we could look at cars. What fun! Taking 2 toddlers to a hot parking lot to look at cars they can't ride in, and not get hit by other vehicles coming and going. The first lot was hot and long. They suggested a big car sale at the mall at Southcenter. So Kipp asked for just one more stop. Luckily they had a bouncing tent for the kids. I stayed there while Kipp looked. Kyler wouldn't go in for a while because there we so many kids, and there was no shade outside. But Ilea had a ball. Finally some kids left and Kyler was willing to jump too. I had to stand by the opening because it was a 3 foot drop-off, and Kyler started to slip out. Finally Kipp says he found the car he wants to get, and he's already been for a test drive. So we go sit in this big, hot tent, crowded with tables. Ilea wants a snow-cone (not in a pink and white outfit!), and settles for popcorn and a dixie cup of water. Kyler just squirms. Finally, after some negotiating, I ask if Kipp needs me any more. He says no, so I leave for home with the kids, to cook my own dinner and clean up for the surprise guests I know are coming. Kipp calls at 5pm and says he's still finishing up, and by the way, someone's coming at 6! So I clean up dinner, and the house and our friends David and Marcia come over. The high point of the day is that they have an Ice Cream Cake Kipp asked them to pick up. It was great! So when we went to bed, I told Kipp he owed me another birthday.

7/16 Ilea stands on one of the stools and shouts TA DA! So today, Kyler stood on a stool and shouts DA! Same tone. He's very good at mimicking tones.

Later in the day I was at the kitchen table and the light was going on and off. I knew Ilea was on the couch, and she doesn't do that anyway. Kyler had pushed Ilea's chair across the room to the gate, and was standing on the chair, leaning over to the light, switching it off, on, off, on.

He can say: Ball, moo, baa, quack, book, up, bottle, wawa (water), baby, cracker, car, up, mama, dada, hat, GIVE ME WHAT I WANT! (tantrum - we usually understand),
He can sign: Please, more, all done, hat, light, plane, bee, flower, dog, fish, bird,

7/13 Ilea: And I growed so big and my mouth did too! So now I can talk!

6/30 Ilea starting crying about 9pm in the hall. We ran upstairs to find out what was wrong. She wanted help putting her socks on. As Jenny put her back in bed Ilea said, "My toes and feet were naked".

6/21 - 24 Trip to Ca:

Jenny went down to Ca for the weekend to see her girlfriend's wedding. Kipp volunteered to stay home and watch the kids so I could go by myself. As it turned out, I asked a friend from church, Aga, to go with me. Her sister, Alla, was visiting from Poland, so she came too. Fri went pretty well. A very long, hot trip down, 13 hours. No Air conditioning. Aga (short for Agnieszka) got burned on her arm from driving with it in the sun. It was nice to get to Uncle Kenny's and the air conditioning.

Sat we got going by 8 am to Tahoe. Easy, beautiful trip. The lake was gorgeous. In fact, a little too sunny. We got our car stuck in sand trying to park, and finally another wedding guest helped to get it out. We found a spot in the shade, which was great. The wedding was at 11:11, and was casual. About 20 min, including 2 poems and exchange of personal vows, then we whispered a secret to a live butterfly which was in a box and released them. Most flew, but not too high. Some took a little bit to get going. Not much shade, but a gorgeous view of the lake and mountains. Only 2 umbrellas and old people were using them. About 85 deg. We had some sun screen, but only SPF15. We put it on twice, but it wasn't enough. We all got burned pretty bad. There was food, and cake, and sumo wrestling (where you put on a huge sumo suit and try to push someone else out of a ring). Dancing didn't go over very well because it was so hot. Finally, Tammy gave us tickets to take the gondola up to the top of Heavenly. We had to park our car in the sun, and lost all that great coolness. The view was fantastic. The girls loved it. We found out after that the tickets are $20 each! No way would we have done that. We grabbed a Starbuck Frappacino on the way out and got back to Ken's by about 6:50, burning up, burned on arms, face, fronts and backs. No one home. We begged a neighbor to let us into the pool just to put our feet in. She did, and everyone else got there about 7:20. Us girls jumped in the pool and it was great. Sun we went to the Capitol building, and old town. A nice, relaxing day.

The trip home wasn't quite so hot. Kipp gave me extra oil and water, saying to keep an eye on them. Right before we went into the mountains (around 11am) by Shasta Lake, the oil light came on. So we pulled off at the next stop and pulled by the side of a gas station in the shade. Aga got out with me. I touched the radiator cap, which was warm, but not too hot. I checked the oil which was low. OK. So I got oil, then used a napkin to start opening the radiator cap. From my days with the Mustang, I was pretty familiar with this. I was cautious. Using the napkin in case it steamed, I turned it a quarter turn. Small hiss, but nothing. Aga was standing by my left side. Then I opened the cap the rest of the way and the water exploded out of there. It hit me in the face and my left eye, and after a few seconds I burst into tears because it was stinging quite badly. A man ran over and just started pulling me into the station to the bathroom. Aga got burned also on the side of her face, on her cheek. We were a pretty sorry lot. Alla had been in the car and couldn't see anything because the hood was up. I flushed out the eye, and he brought us a towel with ice in it. We shared it. By about 4:30 the burns had faded on both of our faces. My eye was a little irritated, but not hurt. Aga was ok too, no blisters. Also by 4:30, the oil light came on again. Luckily, I thought I had seen a Costco near the freeway (we had found a Dairy Queen and were taking an ice cream break) and we got a case of oil, and put 2 more quarts in. I didn't check the water this time.... We made it home by 9:15 for them, about 9:45 for me. Long day. We had left at 7 am. But we finally made it safely.

6/18 Today was the best day! Kyler has been taking showers with me for a while. Today, he was so excited, he ran into the shower with his diaper on. We got that off, and then towards the end, he slipped and sat down hard. So I picked him up. He immediately put his arms around my neck, and lay his head on my shoulder. I sang him a couple of nursery rhymes, and then a few more songs. He fell asleep on my shoulder, still hugging me tight, with the water just running down both of us. I could have stayed in all day! He was so cute.

6/15 Kyler was crawling on Jenny on the couch. I wasn't in the mood, and tried to get rid of him. Ilea was also on the couch, reading, and apparently didn't want him bothering her either!

Jenny: Kyler, go get Ilea!

Ilea: -makes a funny growling noise

Jenny: What was that Ilea?

Ilea: I don't know. I was trying to scare Kyler!

6/10 Ilea and Jenny were talking at lunch one day.

Ilea: I can't wait to be 2!

Jenny: Ilea, you are already past 2. You are 3 now and will be 4 on your next birthday.

Ilea: Then can I climb a mountain all covered with snow with you?

6/9 We went to a friend's house for dinner. Their little boy is 4 or 5. Ilea played with him and his sister up in their room. They had a bunk bed, and must have made an impression on her. Here is part of her prayer that night: "Thank you for the little boy I played with. Well, he was bigger, and he could touch the ceiling on his knees! Thank you for friend to play with me. God bless Victoria and cake."

6/5 Just some thoughts. Kyler and Ilea are so different. As active and challenging as he is, he is also snuggly, where Ilea was not. He's been needing some extra love to go to sleep, and he just puts his head on your shoulder and relaxes. He's been taking showers with me too. He used to just play with toys, but the last 2 weeks, he's been wanting to go in with me. When I get ready to start the water and take my clothes off, he's clawing and struggling to get his PJ's off. So he's been in with me, sitting on my feet, and the drain (which fills up the shower with water....). He wants up sometimes, and just gives me a naked hug, putting his arms around me and laying his head on my shoulder and feeling the water. There's nothing like it! I remember when Ilea was small. At her 3 months appt, the dr put one hand under her upper chest/head, and the other under her waist and swung Ilea around. Most babies curl up to hold on to the hands. Not Ilea. She was stiff as board, legs out, back straight. When I changed her, you could pick up her ankles and her whole body up to her shoulders would lift up. She was incredible. She did snuggle when she first woke up, she liked to be in your lap. But differently than Kyler, who just loves to hug and kiss. Yes, the big, wet, open mouth kissing has started. It's great too.

On Sat the kids and I went to a big neighborhood garage sale. Ilea had a bag of cheerios. Kyler was in the stroller I would park them in the shade, and Ilea would feed Kyler cheerios and share with him while I shopped. It was great. She often plays with him. Thier car seats are by the windows, so there is a space between them. Sometimes they reach out and hold hands. Sometimes Ilea shares food with him, holding it out so he can get a piece of fishy cracker or something. She also shares her toys, mostly. She has a favorite, Baby Bunny. One day she was on the couch and he came up and pulled Baby Bunny. She finally let him have it, and then chased him around the room and got it back. So back he came and pulled it again. I thought she would get mad, but they played that way for 20 minutes! She finally let him get it each time, then ran after him to get it back. They play a lot. Ilea pushes him on her car, and brings him toys if he's sad. It's nice to see.

5/31 We had fun at a new park today. Another mom with twin 4-yr old girls came, as well as another friend with 3 & 5 yr old boys. There were tons of other people there too. It's in a new housing development, and very popular. Kyler did pretty well, and didn't make me chase him too far. Some days he just makes me so tired. Last week while we were helping in the 3 yr olds at church, at the end, one child was throwing beans all over (they have a big table that is sunk with TONS of beans to play in). I told him NO, and ran over to get him under control. The teacher said "we don't say no here if we can help it". I was shocked! Really? She said they try to use positive affirmations. "Please walk", instead of "No, don't run!" I know that is good, and I should probably try, but right now I tell Kyler no about 100 times a day! He doesn't listen at all, but it makes me feel better.... I should try the other way I guess. He is so much more active than Ilea was. He gets into the pen drawer, which has a baby lock on it, and keeps wiggling his fingers until he can get a pen or something out. I'm really going to be dead when he figures out how to use the chairs to climb over things, and move them where he wants. When he wakes up from a nap, I keep expecting to hear "THUMP" every day...

Prayer: Thank you for our house, & Victoria's house, and the cookie store, which has pink and white sprinkle cookies, and Victoria, and my feet which help me stand and walk, and my hands, which help me push up, and my nose, and Victoria, ...

We had juice boxes in Ca in Fresno. Ilea would never drink anything called juice. The box was Have a Blast - Juice Blast. So we called it Berry Blast and she liked it. She was looking at the box (which said JUICE BLAST) and Ed helped her spell Blast. Then he helped her spell JUICE, and the rest of us were mouthing "no, don't tell her it's JUICE". So when Ilea finished and asked what it spelled, Ed said HAVE A. She bought it. We all laughed, and she called it Have A BLast the rest of the time. Last week I bought some of the same juice boxes. She was spelling BLAST. SHe doesn't mind the word juice now. Then she spelled JUICE, pointing to the letters on the box. Kipp asked her what that said, and Ilea said, "Have A". Ed's ruined her for life!!!!

5/23 - Ilea & J were sitting at the kitchen table. Kyler was in Jen's seat on the couch. He popped his head up and laughed. Ilea laughed & said "peekaboo". So K kept doing it, saying "peeah" and laughing each time.

He knows many things you say. He can go get an object if you ask him, or he'll look for it. He can shut a door (when he wants to), and he can put things back. He doesn't do many signs, although I think he knows them. He loves Fish, and Dog. He likes Light. A couple of weeks ago he went through a fascination with lightswitches.

5/29 Kyler can get pens out of the drawer that has a baby lock on it. He can open doors. He eats everything still, including sand, dirt, or rocks. He can get on the couch by himself. He empties out all the drawers he's allowed into. Occasionally he puts things back. He attacks Ilea all the time. Today they played chase for 20 min. He pulls her baby bunny doll, and runs away. she comes after him and gets it back and goes back to the couch and the start all over again. I understand he also attacks the little 1 yr old girls at church too. He charges into them with mouth and arms open wide. They don't seem to like this.