Christmas Time!

Where has the time gone? I feel so negligent in not updating more often, but with three kids and a small business, I am one busy Mama. Things have been good though.

Our Rosalie is a joy! She has come to several soap events with me this year and she is a real crowd pleaser. Everyone falls in love with her and people are constantly commenting on what a good baby she is. She has the best temperament ever. She goes with the flow, is generally happy unless she is tired, hungry or sick and is all around lovely. She is definitely the family baby and we all are madly in love with her. Having Rosalie join the family was the best decision we have ever made.

Rosalie continues to roll, She likes to sit in her Bumbo and grab for hanging things in her play gym. Sh loves her brother and sister and likes to smile and laugh with them. She also loves rough play with Daddy and will tell him all about her day when he gets home from work.

We started feeding her at 5 months. She hasn't really gotten the hang of it, but seems to enjoy food so far. He first food was sweet potatoes, followed by pears, apples and green beans.

Rosalie has he best eyebrows! They are so expressive. She also has beautiful blue eyes that I hope she will keep.

The only challenge with Rosalie is that she likes to be held almost all the time. She goes to bed around 8 p.m. and wants to be held until we take her in the bed with us. Because Somerset shares a room with her, we  don't have as much freedom to let her cry it out.

Somerset continues to love preschool. She is very good at making friends and is very social. She wants to have play dates everyday. Her best friends are Ellie and Maya and she really likes a boy named Christian from her class  and declares that she will marry him someday.

She continues to be very creative. She likes crafts and helping Mommy decorate the mantel for holidays. Her penmanship is also much better than Leo's was at the same age.

Leo continues to love school. I worry a little about what he is exposed to and want him to stay little and innocent forever. h seems to make friends with the good kids and is bothered by the naughty kids.

He will be getting his Jr. Black Belt on December 16th! This is over 3 years in the making and we are so proud. He has changed so much since he started and is such a model student! Go Leo!

I continue to stay busy with the soap business and Joe still is passionate about brewing. Never thought we'd be so DIY!!!

I will try to update more, but in the meantime, life is good!!!

Halloween Fun!

The kids had a fabulous Halloween. Somerset was the best Dorothy ever, Leo looked great as an Archer, but everyone thought he was Robin Hood, So he just went with that, and our little girl was an adorable lady bug!

The big kids went around the neighborhood. Somerset stole many hearts as Dorothy and Leo was charming as ever. Leo has since sorted and categorized his candy in a million different ways. Jow says this is "Joe Brain."

Leo spews lots of facts about spiders, bugs, Clash of the Clans etc. He is a walking encyclopedia and we are trying to teach him the art of engaging in conversation. He is a fountain of information that never runs dry.

Somerset says balana instead of banana. I am mentioning this because it is so cute that I never want to forget this.

Somerset is loving preschool so much and has best friends, Maya and Ellie. Ellie and Somerset are together constantly. They really love each other, but fight like best friends do.

Somerset has a boyfriend named Christian, He seems really loud and silly, so I can see why she likes him so much.

Rosalie is a dream. She is the easiest baby ever! She has been sleeping through the night, which has been amazing!! It's been about a week. We set he in the bassinet in the play room and she usually stays in t until 5:30.

Dr. Crowley says that she will be intense because she engages in conversations and rolled at such a young age (3 months). She likes to babble to us. She tells Daddy all about her day when he returns from work. She is also starting to enjoy rough play.

I am busy with soap making and selling. Sometimes I wonder how I have enough time to get it all done. Like is good though.....just not quiet. :-)

Rosalie the Great!

I would be doing Rosalie a great disservice if I did not mention her legendary, epic. boo-hoo faces. She is so good natured, but sometimes when she is sad, or needs something, the lower lips turns down and she makes the saddest, most pathetic face ever...we always smile. Poor little baby!

Also, this sweet angel slept the night through 2 nights in a row! From anout 10 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. What a heavenly gift! What did we do to deserve this???? We took her out of the room. We moved her bassinet to the other end of the house in the play room and that was the key. As it turns out, we were probably keeping her up at night. Up until this point, I would have classified her as a horrible sleeper, getting up several times a night and wanting to use me as a human pacifier in the bed.

We have lots of fall fun.Somerset had her preschool field trip to Lee's Farm, which was tons of fun. She is developing many close friendships. He best friends are Ellie, Maya and Lee. She also has a boyfriend, Christian. As she explains it, she has 2 boyfriends, Lee and Christian....oh my!

I took Somerset to a Frozen party, where she was able to meet Elsa and Anna. That was a real treat. Somerset likes ponies more, but she is still a Frozen fan, as does every girl her age.

Leo is doing awesome in school. His homework is way too easy, so we are waiting for teacher conferences to determine if his teacher, Mrs. Juttelstad has a good plan for him. Leo's behavior has really taken an awesome turn. He is such a good by and has become more helpful and obedient. Our major struggle has been with Somerset, who has been resistant to cooperate. We are hoping she will be taking a turn soon, because she can be an exhausting little person.

All in all, we are blessed. Excited for the change of seasons and ready to break out the fall clothes!

Giggling, Rolling and Reaching

There are so many milestones that Rosalie has achieved this week and I had to make a note of her amazing accomplishments!

So right at her 3 month mark, she started giggling, reaching for objects in her play mat and giggling. So many things for such a little girl.

Joe is the only one who has made her giggle, but he has done so three or so times now. She responds when her sings her songs and moves her legs in a way that makes her look as though sh is walking.

She also rolled last week! We thought it might be a fluke, but she has rolled half a dozen times now.

She also loves her play mat. She spends quite a bit of time reaching for her rings, baby owl and bird etc. She can also purposely kick objects. Last night she had us all in stitches when she was kicking Somerset!

Aside from all these accomplishments. Rosalie is such a sweet and east baby. We are still in disbelief that this is our baby! How did we get so lucky? She is chill and relaxed, but determined...what a great addition she has been to our family. She is the best baby we could have hoped for. We love her so much!!

Somerset is 4, Rosalie is 3 Months!

What a wonderful day it has been for our family. Our beautiful daughter turned 4 today! This is the first birthday that she has had where she invited her own friends and was truly excited about this being her special day. For the second year in a row, MLP was her theme. Our sweet girl was blessed with a day filled with friends, pony presents and fun.

I bought dress up clothes so the kids could feel like ponies. They wore tu-tus with tulle tails,fake hair headbands with tulle ears and jewelry. We brought a pony castle and ponies to the park, and the kids had a blast with that. We also had a game of horse-shoes and a treasure hunt.

Leo's friends (the brothers), all had fun playing in the sprinklers and on the play equipment at the park (A.M. Kennedy). We had the park all to ourselves and it was a gorgeous day! Perfect for Somerset's party.

Somerset received so many wonderful pony gifts that I know she will be playing non-stop. She was also blessed to have family with her. Both Grandma Laurel and Grandma Cassandra were around for the fun, along with Aunt Tiff, Uncle Martin and Aria. Maya, Ellie, Lee and Simon were Somerset's guests, but we also had the rest of the Kunz, Kam and Koch family members with us. Somerset really felt like a princess.

We have had so many fun visitors as well. Uncle David and Jen came to visit last week. We went to the Japaneses Gardens, the Rose Garden, the Renaissance Fair and the Zoo. The kids fell in love with Uncle D and Jen. Also, Grandma Laurel came out for Somerset's birthday. We had fun at the Pittock Mansion and just hanging out.

Rosalie is the most amazing baby. Other than gas/tummy issues, she is so easy. She only fusses if there is a good reason. I have been able to take her on adventures because she goes with the flow. She is mellow and sweet and we are completely in love!

She has not been sleeping well at night. We start her off in the bassinet at night and then she transitions to the bed. Joe said it's like cuddling a pot-bellied pig. She makes so much noise and scoots all around. We got her started on Axid about a week ago and are hoping that helps.

Rosalie smiles a ton and has giggled once for Joe...I missed it!!!! She loves her family and is getting more fun every day. Her skin is so soft and she has the prettiest blue eyes.

Leo amazes us with his intelligence. He already has wowed his 1st grade teacher! He loves first grade and I LOVE having him in school all day.

Somerset has really excelled at St. Matt's. Putting her in preschool 3 days a week was the best decision we could have made. She loves her friends and has been learning so much. Her behavior has improved dramatically as well.

We are so lucky to have this wonderful family. I feel so blessed.