YUMMY!

Nothing spells YUMMY like fresh, warm strawberries straight from the garden. We have a bumber crop this year and Karsten is taking complete advantage of it! We are getting really good with the Spray-n-Wash these days as every night she has strawberry juice all over her clothes!

Hannah and Wrigley (Wigwey as Karsten calls him) keeping watch...
more like watching for dropped strawberries!

Feeling Better?

Dare I think we may have turned the corner and Karsten is feeling a bit better? I HOPE SO! Today she was somewhat interested in breakfast and ate almost 1/2 and egg and did not cry once-vast improvement from prior days. We even got out of the house and she got a ride in the bike trailer. Then back home for some snack-she ate a little again without crying-and some play time. We played with Play Doh and made a tower that was taller than Karsten. I hope we are on the up and up!

Sick Little One

OK, need a quick reminder to be thankful for a very happy and healthy child? Well, let me introduce you to one of the most nasty viruses we have ever been exposed to: coxsackievirus or more commonly known as "hand, foot, mouth virus". You see, you never quite know what the problem is until you are about 2-3 days into the virus. Karsten was just not herself on Monday night at dinner and just picked at her food. We asked if her teeth hurt as her 2 yr molars should be cutting at any time? Yes, well, maybe, and a sore throat too. She was just not herself.

Fast forward to Tuesday morning when Grandma took K to school as mommy had early morning swim class and daddy had to get to work. I got a call from school that Karsten was just not herself and may have a low grade fever. Hmmm...those dang molars-how about some Motrin and call me if she is not better. Well daddy took sick leave and went to get her at school. She progressively got worse that day and Grandma mentioned to daddy that K had a weird thing on her tongue. Thought nothing of it.

Tuesday night-we were up 3 times in the night with her-SCREAMING. This has not happened since she was a newborn...what the heck is going on? We simply cannot figure this one out. So Wednesday mommy stays home with K and she is clingly, won't eat anything is crying out of the clear blue in pain-and often. More Motrin and more questions. I am concerned about these things on her tongue and also for over a day of not eating-so not normal for my child. I call the dentist to ask if her molars could be causing weird things on her tongue. Dentist is not convinced so we take her in. After pinning her down and almost having to pry her mouth open we see it-HUGE open sores ALL OVER HER MOUTH. On her tongue, cheeks, tonsils, roof of her mouth, everywhere. So that answers it quickly. The dentist informed us that 3 patients had canceled because of this nasty virus and his neighbor kids had it too. Um, great. How long will this last? 5-7 days. And the sores, about 5 days. NOT FUN!

Moral of the story-be thankful first for a very healthy and happy child, it gets you thru those times when they are not so pleasant; be thankful that you have sick days to use, there are times when you really do need to use them; be thankful for good bosses that understand when you really need to use your sick days, with a really sick child. We are thankful for all of these things and more...and will be especially thankful when poor Karsten's mouth is back to normal!

Fun in the Yard

What started out as a great idea to play with Karsten's new bat and ball ended QUICKLY when daddy was still explaining to Karsten how to stand, wait for the ball to swing...and WHACK, on the first swing, before he even knew what hit him, literally, daddy's hand got smacked and his beer went flying across the driveway! We were laughing so hard as I am sure that she could not have done that again, but we turn and looked at Hannah quickly licking up the liquid gold on the driveway!

So off we ventured to the backyard for some fresh strawberry picking!
Mmmm...yummy!

And then a quick touch up of the grass.

Then a check on the vegetables in the garden.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day daddy! What a special morning to wake up and have your favorite girl crawl into bed with you. Mommy tried to make you coffee, but just did not turn out the way that you like it-sorry!

Opening up his new personalized mouse pad for his office!
Karsten made daddy a special gift at school. She had drawn a picture on the back of the bag.

She is ALWAYS good at helping open presents!

Daddy's gifts for his special day.

Daddy, thank you for EVERYTHING you do for Karsten and me. I cannot imagine Karsten having a more involved, loving, caring daddy. You are SO VERY SPECIAL to her and she loves you with all her heart. I always knew that you would be an amazing daddy, but to see you in action every day, you simply continue to amaze me! You are such an amazingly hard-working, special and loyal man and Karsten and I are so very blessed to have you be looking out for us. WE LOVE YOU DADDY!!!!! xoxoxoxo

Pend Orielle Shores

This is the week of Gaga and Papa's timeshare at Pend Orielle Shores on Lake Pend Orielle. Traci and her family as well as our step-sister Colleen and her family from AZ came up for the week to play with everyone. We made a quick weekend of it, but it was nice to get away for a bit. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate much so we had to go for the indoor pool rather than the frigid lake water that was above flood stage! Everyone had a great time together!

Karsten and daddy having a great time swimming

Karsten loves to jump off the side of the pool!

Karsten kept wanting to lay back and put her head in the water

Sarah and Karsten playing with K while Sydney watches

Wes and Tommy chicken fighting on Richie and Rich

Everyone having a blast

Sarah and Sydney chicken fighting on Richie and Rich

Gaga squirting Karsten by blowing water out the center of the noodle!

Karsten's Field Trip

Today was a special day. Karsten's school had a field trip to the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department Headquarters. As I understand it, she enjoyed herself except for when the firefighter came out fully dressed with mask and all-she totally lost it! Crying like crazy and scared. The firefighter took his mask off and she realized that there was a person inside and calmed down, and even gave him a high 5. But still a bit uneasy to say the least! We are continually discussing that the firefighters are good and should not be scary and that they work to help keep people safe.

Here she is after the fact with her fire hat on. Nothing like a little Play Doh to lighten the mood!

Karsten's Words

During bath time last night I found myself cracking up as Karsten was talking about her shampoo and conditioner. Yes, my two year old needs leave in conditioner-crazy, but it really does help with her thick, curly hair.

The funny part is what she calls the conditioner: paticioner. It sounds like she is saying "petitioner"!

Her words, phrases and sentences are getting so complex that sometimes I have to ask her to repeat it several times as I try and translate what she is saying.

Karsten, your phrases are so sweet and you are so matter of fact when you say things. I love to hear that everyday you have a new word, phrase or tell me stories about your day at school. In fact, you were reading stories to daddy and me the other day. You recited 26 pages of "Naughty Little Monkeys" and knew the book almost word for word! Your inflection and pronunciation simply amaze me. But there are those times that I still cannot understand what you are saying.

I am sorry, baby, mommy is trying-have patience with me! You are just growing up so fast that I cannot believe it. Daddy and I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! xoxoxo

Rainbow!

After a completely soggy and blustery day we came home to even more rain. It was a torrential downpour. We sat at the dinner table watching the wind just whip around the trees and listened to the rain crash down on the house. Karsten and I were practicing our listening ears to see how loud the rain got. Then all of a sudden the rain was finished, the clouds started to part and the most amazingly huge rainbow appeared! This picture does no justice, as I think the rainbow faded as I ran to get the camera :-(

Summer Haircut

Today was a big day for Karsten-she got her hair cut, and a lot cut off too! She had been complaining that it was bothering her on her neck (it was getting long) and we had to always have it back in a ponytail or it would bug her falling into her face. The thick hair, curls and tangles teamed with consistent use of sunblock daily at school made for some wicked hair! So off came about 3 inches! Thanks for the trim, Grandma! She loved it and I cannot believe how much older she looks. My baby is growing up...

The Ladybug

Today we ventured to the downtown city park for a bluegrass concert and fun with the cousins. We got a late start as Karsten took one heck of a long nap and was kind of in a funky mood when we arrived. The playground was WAY too crazy with big kids wreaking havoc everywhere so we went to play down on the beach with the Hausers.

Karsten's entertainment began quickly after we arrived on the beach...a friendly ladybug was spotted in the sand. Game over cousins and family-her attention was LOCKED on this poor little ladybug. It got a workout from her "playing" with it for so long. I am amazed that it did not croak on the spot from the "gentle" handling of a two year old. Oh, by the way, have I ever mentioned that Karsten LOVES bugs...?

In-N-Out

Can you say YUMMY? In-N-Out Burger- that says it all! Who can make a trip to California without visiting the most epic of restaurants? We could not miss our chance-we hit it on the way to the airport-better late than never!

Reading with Gramps

Some of the most special times are watching Karsten spend time with her grandparents. This weekend she got some quality time with Gramps and Lala. How about some silly stories before bed time?

Or is it Jazzercise time?
Hmmm, what's on the bottom of my foot anyway?

Ah, now we're talking. I'll just stick with my two fingers instead!