...and baby makes 6!

This is our family on February 28th, the due date of our much anticipated baby, just hours before this family of ours grew a little bit bigger. This fourth child was a HUGE surprise for us and we decided to carry on the theme by not finding out the gender. My whole pregnancy I was sure it was a boy...and I was sure I didn't want it to be born on the 29th. However, just before dinner on the 28th my contractions started...

...and at 4:24 am on February 29th, I delivered our beautiful little girl. Surprise!

She weighed 7 lbs. 14.5 oz. and was 20 inches long.

All of the kids were very excited to meet the baby, especially big brother Caleb who had been kissing my belly daily and saying, "baby, n'out!" (baby, come out!)

There was one big job remaining after the birth of our little girl...naming her. I was so convinced we were having a boy that I didn't invest much time or thought into choosing a girl's name, which was absolute torture for Kalai who had been trying to get us to pick a girl's name for months...she obviously sensed something I didn't. So these first few days we have been brain storming names, visiting baby naming websites and taking suggestions from family and friends...honestly it was a lot harder this time than with our other babies. But we finally found one...the one.

And so we'd like to formally introduce you to Ruby Elise...we love her so much!

Bobble head cowboy

Dear family and friends, who still stop by this little blog of ours despite my lack of posts in the last three months, I do have more pictures and videos to share. But that is for another day. For now enjoy this video of Caleb discovering his inner cowboy. Also his inner bobble head. We love him. :)

The First Snow

This past Friday night we had our first snowfall of the season. I love it when it snows at night because it's such a treat to wake up and see that the world outside has been transformed into a winter wonderland. Saturday morning the girls were so excited that the snow had finally arrived and were eager to get bundled up and get outside to play.

We only got about 3 inchs of snow but it was enough to build a snow man or two and make snow angles (Ella's favorite).

Caleb, who truly is the happiest when he's outside, LOVED the snow. I tried to get a picture of the kids together first thing when we got outside, but the moment I set him down he was off!

And like I said, he loved it. He seriously rallied around the yard...he laughed, he crawled in circles, he crawled from one end of the yard to the other. He did slip and do a face plant a couple of times, but just shook it off and kept on going. Unfortunately I don't have proper snow shoes for him and his gloves kept falling off, so after 20 minutes of crawling through the snow his ankles and hands turned bright red and I had to break up the party to take him inside to get warmed up. I sure hope this kid learns how to walk soon because it will make being outdoors SO much easier!

The one missing element which kept this first snowfall from being truly perfect was Chris. He was out of the town for the weekend so there was no Daddy to take the girls to the sledding hill. Kalai, especially, was bummed. The girls took a sled across the street to the park and tried to sled down the mounds by some of the big trees, but were disapointed to learn that mounds just aren't the same as hills.

Fortunately I think this is just the first of many snowfalls this year, and I know that these three snow bunnies will make the most out of each and every one of them.

The Big 1

On Thursday, during his snack of jam on bread, I said to Caleb:







"Hey, Mr. Serious...did you know that today you turn 1?"







"Who me?" he asked.



"Yeah, you! You're the birthday boy...what do you want to do to celebrate?"







"ummmmm......"







"Let's have a party-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

"Good idea!"




So later that day, after Caleb put on his special birthday onesie made for him by Ella...





and Daddy got home from work and we ate a yummy dinner of black beans (one of Caleb's favorite foods) and rice...

the birthday party began! We sang Happy Birthday to a very excited little boy (sorry for the video being dark)...

and Caleb tried his first cupcake, which he liked alot...mostly he just licked the frosting off.

And then, with a little help, he opened his presents...

and his big sisters helped him break them in...

before we scooped him up for a bath and a later-than-normal bedtime. A pretty simple party all in all...but just perfect for our simple boy.

Happy Birthday, Caleb...you have made our family complete and bring so much joy to our days.

We love you so much!

xoxo Dad, Mom, Kalai and Ella.

Trick or treat

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!




We just wrapped up a fun-filled Halloween with three very special guests, Grandma and Grandpa Frerichs and their little dog Berkeley. We are so thankful they made the trip up to join us for a day of visiting, trick or treating and candy eating. Having them here was a treat in itself!



This year talk of Halloween costume began in September. I'm pretty sure that's what most kids in 4th grade talk about because Kalai talked about it just about every night at dinner. After running through the go-to costume ideas of fairies, ice princesses and such, she decided to be a chef which suits her so perfectly because over this past year she has shown a growing interest in cooking. So with a borrowed chef hat from grandpa, a super cool felt mustache and some flour on the face she was set. This was by far my most favorite costume she's chosen and she was super excited to wear it.

Ella went as princess this year, which honestly surprised me because she's such a tomboy in most other areas of her life. She's the girl who is always running with the boys and climbs on everything and will, 9 times out of 10, chose to play with a fire truck over a baby doll. But there is a side of her that loves to be pretty and sparkly like a princess. Recently someone asked her what she was going to be for Halloween. She said a princess. They asked what princess she was going as: Cinderella, Belle, Snow white? Her response: "No I'm going to be a princess. Princess Ella." (I do hope she knows this princess thing is just for Halloween.)

As for Caleb, I got in my mind a while ago to make him a garden gnome. Personally I think garden gnomes are pretty darling and with cheeks like his I thought he could pull it off. And fortunately he didn't mind the beard at all and kept in on all night.





Just look at our little gnome...Oh, so cute!

What a fun night! Now it's time to plan for this little gnome's first birthday...

back to school

The kids and I were home together all summer long. (And by the end of it there was a definite emphasis on long - for all of us I think.)

With Caleb needing a morning and afternoon nap, feedings and diaper changes, we stayed close to home this summer. I know this was a frustration to the girls who are always ready for an adventure, or at least an outing that lasts longer than an hour. (This conflict of needs and desires is undoubtably my biggest challenge in raising three kids so spread apart in age.) Yes, things felt a little monotonous at times and the house felt a little small and there seemed to always be something we were missing out on. But our baby was happy and well rested, and we did manage some great family outings and we spent a lot of time at the park across the street playing with the neighborhood kids. I personally tried to savor our fairly simple summer days of being at home together as I'm sure we'll never have another summer like this again.

And, really, before we knew it, September was upon us and it was time to get ready for school to start. This year the girls decided to get matching shirts for the first day of school. I love the one they chose. It suits both of them I think.

Kalai's first day of school was a rainy one, but it sure didn't dampen her spirits. The girl was SO ready for the 4th grade. She got the teacher she wanted and has a handful of her favorite friends in class. She gets to join the choir this year and has a classroom upstairs so she gets to line up on the opposite side of the playground now. All big steps for this soon-to-be 10 year old.

(Seriously, 10?! I can't believe it...) When she got home she told me how excited she was to be back at school and in the 4th grade because "being home with you is kind of boring." I took that comment in stride because, really, being home with me and a baby is kind of boring.

So with the oldest away at school, I was left with these two munchkins :) For a week anyway...

Like last year, Ella had to wait a week before her school started. She will tell you herself it was the longest week of her life. After asking me when her first day of school was for the millionth time on the first day Kalai was at school, we made a paper chain that hung in the kitchen to mark the days until preschool started. Every morning she went strait to her chain to remove a link. It seemed to help her get through the wait. When her first day FINALLY came, she then had to wait until noon, when her class started. It was seriously torture! (Note to self: Ella is a get up and go kind of girl. Avoid late starts at all cost.)

When we got to pre-K (Ella is always quick to correct that she's not in preschool anymore, but pre-K!) she was reunited with her best buddy, Ripley, from last year. These girls are two peas in a pod and are thrilled to be in class together again this year!

And so with the two big sisters back in school, it's just me and the boy. And on some days, his nap will line up with Ella's school time and I'll have a few quite moments to myself...which, after a summer of having three kids at home with me, is always a welcome treat.

Look who's crawling

Caleb has been scooting around for about a month now.

By way of scooting he'd eventually get to a different part of the room, or to the thing he shouldn't put in his mouth, or stuck under a table. But I never saw him get anywhere on purpose. He would just end up in a new spot because he was scooting.

But that all change this morning...

The kids and I were all in the kitchen. Kalai was getting her homework in order to take to school. I had put Caleb on the floor infront of the fridge to play with the magnets while I went to help Ella with the puzzle she was doing. As I was looking for a puzzle piece, Ella started to yell, "Look! Caleb is crawling! He's doing it!" The girls and I were surprised and thrilled to see our little man crawling, with great determination, from the fridge to the garbage can. After calling Chris to share the big news, (and moving Caleb away from the garbage can) we grabbed the camera to record Caleb's first moments of crawling. It's not your standard hands and knees crawl, but it works and has been getting him from here and there all day.

Oh boy...here we go!