Happy Birthday Caity!

It is strange to reflect on what seems to be the fastest 7 years of my life while at the same time looking ahead at what seems to be the slowest 6 weeks of my life. How is it that my sweet "first little baby" is now 7 years old? And how is it possible that at the same time the remaining 6 weeks we must wait to meet the newest addition to our family could seem so far away?

Caitlin is suddenly very big and has even begun celebrating her birthdays in true style: three weeks at a time. We started the festivities the day before her birthday with a "simple" BBQ here at the house for family. It was perfect. Plenty of food, good company, and fun.


Then, the following Monday, Caity announced that we needed to bring treats to school to celebrate with her class. Oh Yeah! forgot about that one. So Amber and I scurried out to pick up Caitlin's order of donuts for her class. A big hit by the way. I guess cupcakes get boring after 15 of the kids have already had their birthday treats brought in throughout the year.

Caitlin's party for her friends was next. Eight little girls joined us for Caity's birthday campout. Caitlin had orrigionally wanted a sleep over. No thank you. I talked her into a "late-over" where her friends could have all the fun of a sleep over but actually get the sleeping part accomplished in their own homes. We made sure to have all the elements of a campout and the girls LOVED it!

Everything ran smoothly with the exception of a tent post breaking which resulted in the lovely "sliding-down-the-hill" layout for sleeping bags and blankets. But that ended up being part of the fun anyway.

We all enjoyed some home made shaved ice while Caity opened gifts,


Popcorn 'round the "campfire",


Goofy, 7-year-old antics,
and, of course, no campout would be complete without s'mores.


After the yummy treats were gone I ushered all 9 little monkeys into the house. We got everyone into jammies, brushed 9 little heads of hair and 9 little mouths full of popcorn ridden teeth, and then passed out 9 little plastic lanterns for them to scurry around the yard with.
To finish off the evening we all settled into sleeping bags under the stars and read stories until parents began to show up to corrall the little imps into their cars headed for their own cozy beds.

It was a great success as I managed to time things perfectly for all meltdowns and tired tantrums to happen after their parents arrived. Actually, truth be told, the girls all seemed to do perfectly and the timing couldn't have been better.

Caitlin has two friends that share her birthday weekend each year. So we also managed to squeeze in both of their parties. And now Caitlin should finally be wrapping up the birthday experience by enjoying a trip to "John's Incredible Pizza" (the latest version of Chuck E Cheese on steriods) this Friday with Brad's family. One party just wasn't enough let alone five in two weeks!

Happy Birthday my sweet "first baby"!!

DONE!!

My quest to create a baby boy friendly beach theme is finally through. I never did find anything from a baby store, catalog or online connection. But it has come together nicely. At first I found the painting projects to be relaxing and thought, "I should do this more often." Now I can safely say I have had enough of painting, thank you.

I was able to enlist some help on the last shelf:

Caitlin worked the power sander,



painted,


and quick-dried between coats.


I will take credit for the hand-painted flower spray I added and we have Daddy to thank for sanding the 3 "knobs" for repainting. This shelf was orrigionally white with pink and yellow accents.

All but two of the decorative items had to be repainted to match my color scheme. But they go nicely together, so it was worth it.





All together it looks a little like this:

Caution! Husband at play...

We have officially had the first broken bone in the Krinke family. I had assumed this task would be assigned to our unborn man-child sometime in the next few years. He is supposed to turn our house upside down and be a wild man, right? Perhaps Caitlin's approaching age 7 would doom her to a dreaded "first cast". But no, 'twas not a small person to grace the emergency room last weekend. My biggest child, Brad, decided to demonstrate to his children the need to exit his bicycle from the side rather than over the handle bars. Lesson learned.

Brad had picked up our signs (placed ever-so-carefully to keep our children safe) and hung one from his handlebars. It swung into the spokes of his tire and over he went. A neighbor happened to be outside to help. Amber, with a look of terror in her eyes, told the neighbor, "My gonna go get my Mommy." Out waddles prego-Mom to the rescue! We got everyone inside for dinner and then off to the E.R. we went. Sure enough the X-ray came back to reveal a fracture on the "radial head" (a bone in the elbow). After an appointment with the othopedic specialist the next morning we received the good news that a cast was not needed and hopefully Brad can regain full range of motion without physical therapy. So, as far as fractures go, it was a good fracture to have. I'm still explaining that one to Brad. Poor baby. : )

The culprit of this story also received a fracture but is in good enough shape to resume it's duties in the street, protecting our children. Although I may paint over the words with "Slow, Brad at play."

Take me out to the ball game!

Almost half way through the season and we're still having fun! Yay! I'm not sure Caitlin is learning much about the sport of baseball, but at age 6 almost 7, fun is all that matters. Grandpa's wife, Adrian (Addie if you ask the girls), was able to catch some great photos that make it look like Caity can play with intent. So we figured they should be posted to show the world the great potential of our little athlete. : )


Look at that movement! Glove at the ready and she did actually field the ball!

Caitlin's favorite position: first base. And, gasp, is that another little girl in little league? Yes! This other team actually had 5 girls playing, we're not alone.



Ready position!And last, a demonstration of Caity's real focus on the field. It's important to have a clean pitcher's plate, right?


Since there are no outs in t-ball and they get as many swings as it takes to hit the ball we must entertain ourselves otherwise. But the boys and girls take their job as entertainers quite seriously. Between fighting over the ball in the in-field or sliding into every base and then promptly jumping up to hold their sore bums, the boys keep the entertainment level high. Thank goodness their games have a one hour time limit.

Amber still enjoys going to the ball field:

And we have brought our pooches to the field a couple times as well. We get plenty of attention anytime we take Beau somewhere.
Ah, the great game of baseball!

Sa-wing batta!

Team sport experience number two is under way in the Krinke family. Caitlin has started her first year of baseball. I orrigionally tried to register her for girls softball but failed to meet the deadline. Little League registration is open nearly three months longer than softball and several of Caity's friends are playing this year so we figured we'd give it a try.

Caitlin is one of two girls on her team and has been the only girl at the last 3 practices. So it's definitely a new experience. While talking to one of the other moms I asked, "which one is your son?" to which she replied, "Oh, he's the one hitting himself in the head repeatedly with the bat." I looked over to see her boy "testing" his helmet with a goofy grin on his face. Ah, to have a son.

But being on an all boys team has its advantages. Since none of the boys are interested in doing cartwheels, holding hands, having their hair done or chatting about their day, Caitlin is actually paying attention to her coaches and participating in the game. Much more than what can be said for our soccer experience. And I do happen to think that a little girl in braids and head-to-toe pink surrounded by a bunch of goofy boys enhances the cuteness factor immensely for our little princess.


Caity's coach is a real "Man's Man" so its been interesting watching her do jumping jacks and push ups in warm up. Or having to "drop for 5" (push-ups) for a bad throw.



All in all this is working out to be a fun experience for everyone. Brad is thrilled to have Caitlin in a sport he can actually participate and help with. Amber thinks hanging out with all the boys little brothers is fabulous and Caitlin is actually enjoying herself and learning how to play.

I still think I'll be more diligent about making the softball registration next year. Cups are not required for little boys in T-ball. Considering the need of all the little boys to test the integrity of their helmets I don't think we'll want to be around the year they discover the other variety of protection.

Progress

Ah, the rollers and paint brushes have finally been put to rest in the baby's room. I have yet to hang wall decorations or put the other nick-knacks in place, but progress is progress.




We have gone with a beach theme in his room. So we have worked in a few palm trees and will have several other beach-style accessories.



I am painting most of them myself as it is hard to find anything I like that is baby boy friendly. I will post again with the finished product, hopefully soon.

Road trip... again?

Thursday morning I got a call from my Mom, "We're going to Utah tomorrow, are you going to come?" My grandmother lives in Utah near my Aunt in a care facility called a beehive home. We had visited with her in October on our trip to Utah's national parks. Everyone loves Great Grandma. Her joyful spirit is a blessing to be around. She just had her 96th birthday in February. But a week or two ago she began having trouble with her health and seems to be declining. So it was decided Dad should go out for a visit. I was not going to let this opportunity pass me by. In another month or two a 12 hour drive will not be possible (or even remotely enjoyable as I will be a giant prego-blimp by then) and once our little guy is here we won't be going any where for a while either. So I replied without hesitation, "We're going."

The girls and I were snuggling in bed in our pajamas when we got the call so when I hung up the phone I asked what they thought of going to Utah tomorrow. You'd have thought they had won the lottery. They immediately started jumping on the bed like little monkeys and throwing their sleepy time pals in the air screaming, "Utah, Utah, Utah!" It was good to have their enthusiasm near by as I started to realize what I had just committed to. All the preparations fortunately fell into place and we were on our way the next morning.

Saturday we visited Grandma first thing. She enjoyed having the little girls around. I was so glad to have them there with us to lighten the mood. Grandma can no longer see but continued to ask, "Who's the baby?" as Amber would scurry through the room and talk in her tiny little voice. We were all able to sit and talk a bit with Grandma.

The girls kept themselves busy by redecorating the dry erase board in Grandma's room. I hope the caregivers don't mind the permanent marks that made it to areas other than the white board.

After our visit we had the opportunity to visit the Draper Temple open house. The girls were very excited to be able to go inside the temple. Caitlin was very reverent and interested in the various rooms. Amber kept asking, "Mama, where's Jesus?" So I would point to all of the paintings portraying Jesus in each room and hallway. But she continued to ask again and again until I realized she has learned the temple is "The house of the Lord" and we talk about it being Heavenly Father's house. She believed we were going to see Jesus that day at his house. Melts my heart.

Sunday we attended Sacrament meeting at the beehive house with Grandma. They do a very abbreviated version which ended up being perfect for the girls. We started with a 30 minute "choir practice" before the sacrament meeting began. We sang mostly primary songs and a few hymns. Caitlin especially enjoyed that. Then the Sacrament meeting began. We had an opening song, prayer, sacrament hymn and the passing of the sacrament by a pair of young men from the local ward. And then there were two short talks, one from and "Ensign" article and one from a "Friend" article. Then the closing song and prayer. It was perfect. The spirit was there just as I have felt it on any other Sunday. It was a great experience.


The girls and I made cookies that afternoon while everyone else went off to Marlene's ward (which was during nap time). And then we all enjoyed an awesome corned beef and cabbage dinner in early celebration of St. Particks Day. Three of my cousins decided to give us a little entertainment and do a little Irish Jig for us.



Yes, we do actually have this much fun without alcohol. And yes I am willing to admit they're family. It's a shame the missing cousin (currently serving a mission in Canada) wasn't there to join in. This was right up his alley.

Monday I was able to sneak in two more visits with Grandma. And we enjoyed a fun Family Home Evening together.

Even three full days of card playing, cookie baking, F.H.E.-ing, and large family dinners just wasn't enough. But school and the responsibilities of home were calling. So back into the van we all went to drag ourselves back across the desert to our homes. It's always nice to get away. We love you Grandma!