Spring! Kieks is 9 months

Praise the lord, winter is 'officially' over. Of course living in Wisco there's no guarantee but at least there are hints of warmth, traces of sunlight, and more chances to send the people in our house out for fresh air.

thanks to the harms's for this awesome snow suit!

these children are a walking lands' end ad

look at these cuties, ready to stroll

maio family, mush!

loved stuffing her into this little polar bear get up

There was one Saturday that was especially warm and sunny, so we bundled up the bigs to go burn off some steam. I didn't get through a single dirty dish when they came running back in, screaming "Mommy! Mommy!" I was instantly irritated, assuming either someone had to pee or they were already fighting. How nice to learn that no, it was just an update that there was a severed rabbit head right next to the play set.

so....that happened

Dead critters aside there was lots of random silliness from the month:

mommy milestone: first time i can use the big cart with the little kids

such a content girl

gg had to make a leprechaun trap for school. therefore lukas had to make a leprechaun trap

goin' to the chapel. which of her four boyfriends is today's lucky groom??

walkies for all

a glimpse of those top two toofies breaking through

hard to holler at him for not finishing getting dressed when he's busy reading in his unders

I figured that, as GG started ballet at age 3, it was time for Luke to get involved in something. He chose gymnastics and I signed him up for an 8-week class at the Y. It did not go well. The first two weeks he wouldn't go anywhere near the teacher and absolutely collapsed into gasping sobs of "Mommy! Mommy!" if I wasn't right by his side. So I got to do gymnastics with seven other 3 and 4 year olds. By the end of the second class he was begging to not have to come back which of course sounded good to me. But no! I paid 72 good dollars for that class! Instead we tried to spend time talking about what he liked about class and that it was ok to be away from Mommy for a short time. Genevieve came to the next class and fortunately the teacher was nice enough to allow her to participate next to him. Light bulb moment: I've been working so hard to make sure they are friends that I have caused him to be super reliant on GG being around. Not the end of the world, but I did not see that one coming. By week five he went from sobs to straight up naughty, running around out of line and out of control. Oh my god I was so embarrassed. Suddenly he was that kid and I was that kid's mom. I told the teacher to be stern with him but she was a softie, so now he was sitting in my lap as punishment instead of comfort. Weeks seven and eight saw some shoots of green with at least a few good minutes of participation requiring me to neither scold nor soothe. I look forward to continuing to push him through it with whatever class he chooses next. The beatings will continue until morale improves!

progress!

And a few more warm days lead to melting snow and what else? Baseball!

sa-WING batter!

line drive to mommy

crinkle nose in full effect

i d.i.e.

#maiosisters

time for some happy selfies

look at these nuts!

now THIS means spring

kieks in the famous brewers jacket. stuffed her into it with mere moments to spare

gg at 5 months

lukas at 4 months. oh my god that cute little man.

first bike ride and first springtime stop at the baby bench

Kiera had her 9 month appointment at the beginning of March. She came in at 28.5" and a tad better than 19 lbs. She came out with an order for occupational therapy. WHAT? True story, the lass is not only not crawling but she barely rolls. She's about 3 months behind in mobility (kind of significant when you're 9 months old) so our pediatrician ordered OT. I was really surprised and also just about collapsed under the mom-guilt. What wasn't I doing? I know I can't spend as much 1:1 time with her as the others but if I can't manage it in the first nine months how else am I going to fail her in the next 18 years? At the same time OT seemed a little rash. She'll get there eventually. But the more I read the more I realized how much arm strength is developed by crawling as well as some critical cognitive connections. And the reason I love my pediatrician is because she's aggressive. So if Kiera was 11 and needed help in algebra, I'd get her a tutor. Instead she's 9 months and needs help in moving. Let's get a tutor.

first day at therapy, teaching mama how to do our new moves.

this about sums up how kieks feels about it

Outside of the gross motor work, Kiera is doing beautifully. She's very communicative and actively waves, nods, and points at things. She laughs all the time and does 'so big' and says 'uh oh' (well...grunts uh-uh but in the right melody. Usually this is her warning that she's about to drop something on purpose). She loves to get in the fray with the bigs and just laughs and laughs when Lukie pulls her down or GG gets in her face. She has been loving the swing on the play set and continues to be a champion eater and sleeper. Here's our nine month spring time girl:

flower child

this month's "who, me?" shot

the inquisition

dear daddy: i dare you to say no to me

ha! i get everything!

those tiny little toes

crinkle nose

you again

done with this picture business

bro joins the party

that belly

oh and here are my toes. don't you wish to nibble them?

lazy lunker, featuring a drool pool

giggles

ooh she's getting fired up now

i'm out!

February...Kiera at 8 Months

February brought one of our most fun weekends of the year, our annual Super Bowl get together. I had major anxiety leading into the weekend (never have I wanted a minivan more) but the road trip there was not awful and the kids didn't lose their minds until we were within an hour or so of our destination. I would love to say a good time was had by all, but poor hostess Anna had a horrible respiratory infection and both GG and I got a stomach-wrenching barf bug which made for a looooong trip home. We stopped at a Perkins for lunch, and I'm sure we were looking like the saddest bunch in there. Which is saying something since it was in bumble-youknowwhat-Wisconsin. But hey that wasn't until Monday...so a good 36 hours on the books.

oh my god i love this picture. poor genevieve is just completely wedged back there in the third row. luke is sporting the mardi gras mask he made at school that day

too much bourbon street

open gym for the tots so anna could enjoy an hour without 19 additional people in her house

oh foam, how this boy loves you

look at that pointe! dang.

booski is along for the ride

We mommies get a lot of sick pleasure out of forcing our kids together for photos at these little gatherings, and this time I also had some MSOE gear for the 9 Raider descendents. Coming to an alumni newsletter near you.

12...count em TWELVE kids in seven years. some having more fun than others (poor nolan is not loving life)

future raiders. if they all went to msoe we'd be looking at well over $1 million in tuition. gah!

we always do gift exchange for the kids. lukie got a nerf football and these glowing eye things, which were the hit of his liftime. sidenote: one of my favorite memories happened about a week later. i was upstairs with the girls and called luke to get ready for bed. i hear him and matt coming up the steps and find that they're both wearing their glowing eyes as the ascend. dudes playing football, does it get any cuter?

#maiosisters

driving home, too tired to deal with it

During all of these shenanigans Kiera hit the 8 month mark. She's spent the last month getting pretty darn good at that critical pincer grab. She's not crawling yet but if you need a miniscule piece of dirt picked up from somewhere you didn't know existed, she's your gal. She's starting to deliberately mimic sounds and actions. We've started to get some "so big" arms in the air and the cheeks on this one continue to just be killers, as well as the thighs a plenty. I hate that it's winter and I have to cover up all those squishy lovey bits. She still loves to nibble her own toes which is adorable but she's figured out to do it during diaper changing time and makes me fight her to put her legs down so I can fasten the new one on her round little rumpus.

We are going a bit stir crazy in the house and have been trying to get out a bit here and there. It's absolutely awesome that GG and Luke are big enough to play outside by themselves. It's a parenting game-changer and I love that we're here. I remember letting GG play outside by herself when she was 3, but just for short bursts and just in the summer. But having the two of them together makes for a much less nervous mama and a much happier bunch. They have been loving the snow and worked with Daddy to build their own fort, courtesy of the pile that is deposited at the end of our property from our crotchety neighbors across the street.

Little Sweetheart's Dance at school. Cute factor: 10. as i noted on facebook this pic is especially impressive given that about 8 seconds prior lukas came up and nailed matt right in the stones.

oh my god, i die

fort!!

mama, i need some fresh air too

need to put chains on the wheels but that's ok

daddy's working late = quick dinner at chocolate factory

shovel it in mama. check out that impressive hat hair

when it comes to fine motor skills, kiera is your woman

nursing shark and dino. obviously.

oh sweet mercy, the CHEEEEEEEEEEEKS

starting to work on this crinkle-nosed smile. methinks there's a playful little spirit in there

i am going to eat this child alive

cousin logan turns 1!

strip that boy down and give him some cake

saturday morning + pancakes = happy face

girl scout gg sold 150 boxes of cookies. she gets a prize and i get to sort 150 boxes of cookies.

i had to renew my drivers license and the public museum is right across the street from the dmv. done and done. PSA:  when you take 3 kids to the dmv, your picture is guaranteed to look serial killer-level insane

kicking back after a little stroller nap. still amazes me...gg N.E.V.E.R. would have snoozed in the stroller. feels like a vacation

we are on the tail end (please god) of this running-away phase with luke. apparently this is the opposite. we're just going to throw ourselves down in the middle of the store.

cute moments. three happy sibs.

And, 8 months:

capturing the supermodel "far away" gaze

silly baby

she's just so happy and content

working on our wave

meanwhile a word about those delicious tiny toes

full on belly laugh

oh yes, the raspberries. kiera is a PRO and enjoys spraying us all down

every month i have a shot of her looking very busted with bear. "who, me?!?"

hey, he has feet too

banded little wrists and elbows

working on balance with big sis

this about sums it up