Beautiful Princess Kasja

We snapped these a few nights ago.

I think they turned out great - my baby is growing into such a big girl.

(the first one is my favorite)

Update

We have been quite busy lately... Chris was in Singapore for business for two weeks, my mom and Auntie Becca were in town to visit and help me out while Chris was away; mom and Becca left last Friday afternoon with tears in everyone's eyes, while Chris returned Friday at midnight to one happy little girl who made googly eyes at her daddy all the way home from the airport at 1AM.

This week has been filled with unpacking, laundry, and repacking (work, evening teleconferences, etc...) - Chris heads off again Friday, this time to Minnesota to pick up his mom and grandma. He is flying to MN and driving back with "Rusty the Dog" in tow. We are hoping to welcome the crew to Austin sometime Wednesday or Thursday. After that, everyone should be staying put until Mahala makes her debut in mid-July. Chris has been so busy for the last two months with all of this travelling, and not to mention moving house and starting a new job! He has earned lots of gold stars! (especially after the beautiful rare pearl necklace he brought home for me from Singapore - I'll get a pic).

Kasja is growing up faster than you can blink. Her favorite words lately are NO, NOT, MINE, and SIT (she likes to boss the dogs). She understands both Spanish and English, which is kinda fun. She has given up her morning bottle, and I am hoping by the end of the week to do away with bottles completely by getting rid of the bedtime bottle. She was probably ready to give them up a while ago, I think mama is more attached to them than the little Miss. She has been into pretending lately with her baby and dishes; she likes to feed, kiss, hug, and snuggle the baby and makes (plastic) scrambled eggs better than any other sous chef, she also like to pretend feed everyone. It is pretty cute and amazing to me how she learns all of this stuff.

Mahala has been kicking away (usually in the middle of the night or when I am trying to concentrate during a work meeting) and growing quickly herself (i.e. recently grew out of a set of pants and my belly hangs out the bottom of my shirts - ugh!). I am getting to that point where I am really ready to meet this little lady but know she needs to cook for a few more weeks. We are scheduled for a c-section on July 22; if Mahala is anything like her sister, she'll come around July 13. Regardless, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, however this time I know what we are in for with a newborn... I guess there is no turning back now :) Someone at work the other day said something along the lines of "well, if you take a maternity leave... " To which few ladies (and I) laughed... IF - do I have a choice at this point? Like oh, I guess I am just not going to have that baby after all. We are getting excited, but it is crazy how different it is the second time around, but that is a whole different post.

The boys have settled into the new house. Leto "fell" (was bumped in by Jesse) into the pool twice in the last few weeks - this has spurred lots of new barking at the pool monster (i.e. little cleaner thingy that scoots around the bottom). Jesse missed his dad and his authority and has found a new fav comfy spot on the couch, good thing Chris is back since I am not nearly the alpha male that he is (obviously, right).

Memorial Day weekend marked a year since Zeus passed. After a year, it is a little easier but I am still pretty sad. I still miss him, talk about him a lot. I was chatting with one of my friends, Christophe, and he said something that really hit me... Zeus would want you to get over him and move on - loving him is letting go (not rocket science but an ah-ha moment for me nonetheless). Christophe is so right. Since that conversation, I have been trying to shift my mind around loving and letting go, and it is helping. That and a lot of chocolate and ice cream.

I do not have any new pics -- my mom has some that I need to get from her. I'll be sure to snap a few this weekend and post them on here. So long for now!

The BEST Austin-area Nanny Available

It is with sadness that we had to give our nanny the news that our family will no longer need her; grandma will be caring for our little munchkin(s) starting mid-June, so Raquel's (our nanny) last day with us will be June 12th. I know it can be very difficult to find a great nanny, especially around the time school gets out -- and Raquel is THE PERFECT NANNY. She has raised four girls and helped me navigate through this first time mom stuff.

So... if you are in the Austin area and looking for a nanny - drop me a comment and I would be happy to help facilitate a match-up and answer any questions you may have. I really want to help Raquel find the perfect family since she has been so good to us.

Mom & Becca to the rescue

Chris is leaving for a two week business trip to Singapore Friday and Kasja and I were going to be on our own. I thought, this could be difficult - but we can do it - single moms do it all of the time, right?!

Until recently, I had not really been showing my pregnancy; all of a sudden it really hit me; I am moving slower, my belly: HUGE. Anyway, Sunday night, we were lounging getting Kasja ready for bed... she has this thing about getting up and down from couches/beds right now. Without thinking, I twisted while lifting her up on the bed and over my belly - BAD IDEA! I felt a pull in my ribs. Worse off, within 30 seconds, Kasja was back on the floor asking to come up on the bed, and I twisted while lifting her up and over me, again. If the first time it was a BAD IDEA, not sure what doing it the second time was besides complete STUPIDITY. When the moment of STUPIDITY hit me, I felt a tear in my right mid-rib section. Then it was numb. Hmmm... the stupidity ensued and I thought not a lot of it. Woke up in the middle of the night with screaming/stabbing/supersucky pain when I either 1. breathed or 2. moved. Great! I spent Monday attempting to hide my pain (after researching it could take many weeks to heal) and convince Chris that I could handle Kasja on my own when he leaves for Singapore. Apparently, I am not a good actor.

By Tuesday, deep down, I knew that I could not handle Kasja on my own for two weeks. I seriously can barely breathe much less lift, twist, and buckle her into a carseat. Not really ready to admit defeat, and holding out hope for a fast recovery, I kept telling Chris I could handle it knowing (err... thinking/praying) I would make it through some way (strong women SUCK IT UP and DEAL, right?!). I talked to my mom over lunch, and she called me out on it. She told me I did not sound good; she could hear my pain through my voice, and that she was going to talk to my dad when he got home from work about holding down the fort so she could come to Austin to help out, afterall she and Becca did not have many commitments anyway.

At first, I thought, great, cool, thanks. But, you know, I really can do it all by myself. For real. I can. It is a motto I have believed deeply in since being a toddler (I am told) and something I am starting to see in my own daughter -- a fierce streak of independence/self reliance. But is accepting help, defeat? Or make you weak? I went back to my work teleconference thinking about this and the example I lead for my own daughter. My phone rings. It's my mom.
Mom: "Check your email recently?"
Me: "Yeah... wait, which one... oh gmail, no - checking it."
Mom: "Our itinerary is in your inbox, Becca and I get in Friday evening, we're staying for two weeks to take care of you and Kasja."
Me: "I didn't know dad was home yet... seriously, THANK YOU!"

I told Chris the news when he got home from work. All day, he had been worrying/trying to find some help to visit knowing what I was not ready to admit. It is an understatement to say Chris was relieved, shouting "Your Mom is a SAINT!"

The lesson I have learned here is that asking for/accepting help is not defeat. Sometimes, knowing when you need help is what makes you strong. And that moms ROCK! Even when you are a mom yourself - sometimes you still need your mom to take care of you. I hope Kasja (and Mahala) give me that opportunity someday.

On becoming a cheapskate

So... I must admit, I have been sucked in. I went to Target yesterday, and bought a crap-load of stuff, including a bunch of evil wheat crackers for Chris, BBQ sauce, 3 gallons of milk, a nasty diet coke for myself to enjoy on my way home (oh, how I wish I hated the taste of the stuff, but it is SOOOO yummy) and a dark chocolate bar for $11.15. The milk alone was almost $11, so Target pretty much paid me to take everything else off of their hands. My mom regularly blogs about ways to save money and has made some friends who do the same, including a super cool mom at It's Hip to Save. Now these ladies, including my mom, are way insanely into this couponing stuff. I have always been a bit of a brand whore... sporting an addiction to Aveda, European shoes, Ralph Lauren Black Label, Ethan Allen... I don't like to be loud about it, I just like to buy the best that I can afford, but with a one kiddo in tow, another on the way, and a new house (not to mention the economy) - I sometimes ask myself -- aren't there better ways to spend that money we have worked so hard for? I aways try to get the brands I like for the best price (i.e. finding something I really like, and watching it go on sale) but this is truly taking cheap to a new level. Isn't Target brand baby shampoo for $0.34 just as good as the California Kids crap that costs $10?

This is not to say that I am reformed and cured of my addictions, rehab may still be in my future, however, I did get a thrill out of trying to make my check at Target be as low as possible being that I rarely get out of the place for under $150. It was only $11! And I got 3 bags of stuff. Seriously. Supercool!

Pools, ice cream & cake... what a weekend!

Kasja came down with a common childhood virus this past weekend (hand, foot, and mouth disease), so DRs orders were... ice cream, milkshakes, and soft food. Well... I can tell you there were no complaints from Miss Kasja as she enjoyed her first icepop. (We did not mind either, there was no way Kasja could eat the entire box we were "forced," er... on DRs orders, to buy, so we helped out too).

Chris and Kasja braved the cold water and took a dip in the pool. Chris had jumped in Saturday, making the first official venture into the Howe's backyard pool - I thought he was crazy -- Sunday afternoon, we were letting Kasja dangle her feet in - and before we knew it, we had to strip her down and let her swim. I am still way to chicken to get in... yes, I know it is 90+ degrees out, however the water is still a bit too chilly for me. Maybe by the weekend after we have a few more warm nights. Anyway, Miss Kasja LOVED the water. She splashed, giggled, and kicked. Definitely a fish in the making. Daddy enjoyed the special moment swimming with his little girl, too.

And... it was Chris' birthday last Sunday (the 26th) and I made him a cake. I recently learned he loves Angelfood cake. Being a gluten-free house, this is not something you can just go out and buy. It took me a few days to get all of the flours needed, and to get brave enough to tackle the recipe. Anyway, the cake turned out OK. Tasted wonderful, a little dense. I think I over folded when I added the flour. But, here is my first attempt at making a gluten-free Angelfood cake. Not quite up to par with Grandma Eke's... I told Chris he is going to have to suffer through another try at it this week (he did not complain).

Rub-a-dub-dub

... look at these two cuties in the tub! I know they will kill their mothers someday for snapping these pics - but they are so cute, so how can you resist!

Already?

Check out the video below...

Notice, how interested the dogs are in Kasja's newly mastered skill... without thumbs, this is something they could never accomplish, just a lot of scratched up doors for which they know the consequence - now they have Kasja to open the doors for them; it is a dream come true for the boys, and evidence of why dogs and kids become best pals. Anyway, this is a skill no one has taught nor encouraged Kasja to learn - she picked it up on her own. It is amazing how quick they learn. My days of setting Kasja on the floor and blow drying my hair are OVER.

Our first family get together in the new house

We moved into the new house this past weekend, and hosted the Riemers (AKA the BEST realtors in the WORLD) for Easter dinner. It was awesome! We had unpacked most of the cooking tools we needed - however, lacked a can opener and wine bottle cork thingy... nothing that a few innovative 30 somethings couldn't find solutions for. Kathy and Wade also stopped by to check out the new place, and give Jacob and Kasja some Easter treats. It felt so great to be home. We spent Monday getting all of the big stuff from the old house. We hired 3 guys to help Chris out, since I am a worthless bump on a log when it comes to lifting crap, being preggo and all. Chris and the guys worked until 11PM. I thought we had moved and unpacked most of the kitchen shtuff on Saturday, boy - was I wrong! Tuesday and Wednesday we spent wrapping up little stuff at the old place, and by dinner time Wednesday, we had said our good-byes to 609 Lido. I have to admit that I took one last long look at the tree Zeus used to lay under and had a little tear fall -- other than that, I do not miss the place. We take our memories with us (and Zeus, he is in a box on top of the fire place) - and our new home has all of the features a growing family could ever dream of. We have had several people out (friends, contractors, etc...) and it is amazing how much people rave about the house. I mean, I love it, would not have bought it otherwise, but I do not expect others to like it so much. The cable guy yesterday was even commenting on our stair rails, weird.

So... we are moved. Settled, no. That will take some time - but we are LOVING our new home!

Walking, walking...

I so have that Raffi song stuck in my head (all parents out there, you know the one: walking walking, walking walking, hop hop hop, hop hop hop, running running running, running running running, now you stop). Anyway, this little clip was taken a few weeks ago when Kasja was really working on honing her walking skiils. What is so true about the Raffi song, is that... these kids learn to walk - then before you know it, are running and hopping circles around you. It is amazing! We'll make a clip sometime this week to show you how quickly her wobbly steps have turned into sure-footed walking/running.

She can have her cake, and eat it too!

1st Birthday Pics!

Due to many requests :) here are a few pics from Kasja's first birthday party two weekends ago. I had every intention to edit a few of them, but it is just too crazy with the move and all right now. So, here they are, edits will be later.

We had lots of help openning gifts.

Kasja loved her chocolate cake!

Everyone loved the bouncy house.

We had a house full! It was fun to have one more party before the big move this week. We had such a good time, and arethankful to everyone who came out to celebrate Kasja's big day with us.

Kasja is 1!

Miss Kasja is no longer a baby -- officially a toddler now!  She turned 1 this past Thursday.  Right as she was waking, Chris and I sang her happy birthday -- and that was about it for the "fun" birthday events on her actual birthday.  She was sick; running a fever and had a snotty nose -- and we were in the process of selling our house (you read that right, were -- IT SOLD!  We have fantastic realtors!) and had the buyer coming through for an inspection in the afternoon, so.... we have a birthday party planned for our little miss this weekend.  I'll take plenty of pics and post them here for those who are out of town.  It is just so hard to believe a year has past already, where does time go? -- and I am no longer mama to a little baby but an independent toddler, who's walking, talking, and has many ideas of her own.

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Can't sleep & what ifs?

Tonight, I am super tired.  Got up with Kasja this morning at 5AM, worked a full day, ate a drive through dinner (if you could call it that) in the car with Chris, the dogs, and Kasja because of a house showing -- was dead tired when my head hit the pillow -- only to stare at the ceiling, thinking.  Thinking - what if this... what if that... then that means this... and I follow the dominoes in my mind down every possible track, until I make up a new track.  I must admit, this is typical Kristy.  I have never been able to shut off my mind; it is why I (or shall I say my husband) have so many fantastic sleep walking stories to share.  I have even been in for a sleep study about it -- it being my inability to shut my mind down -- and the only thing they confirmed for me -- is yes indeed, my mind does not shut down like "normal" people.  Great, thanks, coulda told ya that.  I have semi-obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and would never change that about myself; it is part of what makes me different and good at the few things I am good at -- I just wish -- I could selectively turn it off at night so I can sleep.  Ugh!