Looking Older By the Day

Here's my sweet hubby with his KoKo Bean. I just love the fact that my girls are daddy's girls.

Three years ago this picture had a lot less people. We have acquired such wonderful, happy little blessings. I know most of you, if you check my siblings blogs, have seen some of these Christmas pictures.


But I just love the expressions on everyone's faces, so I just had to post them. Aren't Grandma and Grandpa Farwell glowing! I remember Blake squirming around before the picture was taken and then cracking up laughing every time we took a picture. What a clown.

I can tell these 7 kids are going to be ripping and running through G&G's house by Christmas 2009.

Koralee got some cool shades for Christmas. Of course they are Nevaeh's, too.

Nevaeh and Koralee got matching jammies identical to Brenna, Malia, and Josie's. What a great gift from G&G. Sure will be cute next gathering.

Nevaeh's favorite new snack is "poptorn". We get free popcorn at work on Friday nights, so I had been bringing some home. She can eat a whole bag herself.

Kristy (our babysitter) and Becky (my best friend) both got Nevaeh some sort of Princess gear. Tiara and all. There is also a pink skirt and top that match. She also got pretty princess jammies with slippers. She likes to dance around like a ballerina, pointing her toes and twirling, and most of the time it is to the Curious George theme song. We bought her a DVD and so now that is the only cartoon she wants to watch.

Often I will come in the room and Nevaeh has crowned Queen KoKo, again. And Koralee sits there like she knows it.

The pic of Koralee with her favorite little orange monkey chew toy is my all-time favorite. The monkey is a little crusty right now and needs washed.

The pic of both of the girls was from this morning. They were holding hands right up to the picture being taken. Koralee is so long. Nevaeh is going to be the little one in a few years.

And then of course my daughter, the future scrub nurse, as my fellow co-workers say.

I know, I know, pics to come soon...

Okay, I said I would try to get pics posted last week, and it just didn't happen. I only have time to check my own blog on my lunch break at work. Isn't that sad. But I am planning on posting some pics Tuesday morning after I get the oil changed after I get off work, so be on the lookout!

Koralee had her 6 month appointment on Friday. I know. 6 months already. Can you believe it! She is 17lb 1.9 oz, and 27 3/4" long. That makes her in the 70%'s for weight, and back up to the 98% for height. It's amazing that everywhere we go, people talk about how big she is. And when Nevaeh was a baby, they all talked about how petite she was (and still is).

Neaveh is still fighting this darn fever off and on. She almost consistently has a dry, hacky cough which we just cannot seem to get rid of. It's much worse at night when she is sleeping and she has drainage going on, which then sometimes results in the awakening of Koralee. But for the most part, their sleeping is as good as we could ask for.

We are so blessed and thankful that Koralee has stayed healthy. I'm sure a big part of that is the fact that she is a breastfeeding baby, but that all ended on her 6 month birthday when I almost had certain body parts bitten and ripped off of me. So, hopefully she can remain healthy being formula-fed. I couldn't continue to go through the pain.

Nevaeh is using the potty on a daily basis now. She even gets upset when she is wet. Of course, some days are better than others, but we are definitely on the right track and hope to only have one child in diapers soon.

Koralee is still trying to crawl. I helped her today get her knees underneath her and she was trying to go so bad, but just can't figure out how to keep her knees underneath her, thus falling back onto her face. But she just keeps trying with a big ole smile. No teeth yet, but my guess is they will be coming soon.

So all in all, we are doing great! My girls need some more "cousins time" though, so family, when you want to hang out, give me a call. We would love to see you all again! Sorry we missed Manhattan this last weekend. We ended up going to St. Jo to see Shun's family. It was nice to see several of his family members again. They have so many kids running around they keep Nevaeh preoccupied at all times. She was obsessed with the Hannah Montana guitar on Saturday. Can't say I'm upset we don't own one of those. She now knows who "Tana" is, which we are also not too thrilled about. But what do you do.

Love you all and hope to see you soon!

Sorry so slow...

I know it's been over a month since I last posted. Last pics were from Thanksgiving. So much has changed! We had a wonderful Christmas back home in Bern, Kansas with the entire Farwell clan. 7 Farwell grandkids is such a blessing. I pray that we can continue wonderful family gatherings for years to come.

My how the girls are changing. Unlike Kenton, Nevaeh is a little more stubborn with the potty. Maybe I need to try the colored marshmallows instead of a sucker. She has gone pee-pee on the potty a grand total of 2 times (over about a 4 month period). I think it only happens because the seat is so cold when she sits down. She was pretty proud of herself yesterday when it happened though. She was doing it when I was getting home from work in the morning so I didn't get to see her do it, but she wanted me to go pee-pee then right after her. I went pee-pee for her and got an enthusiastic "Good job mommy!" after I was done. It was too cute.

Koralee, Koralee, Koralee. What an individual. She is quite the sassy little girl already. Gets extremely frustrated and screams loud if we take something away she wants to play with and put in her mouth (ex - TV remote). It's almost funny to see the look of desperation on her face when crying. She is also starting to get up on all fours, so maybe crawling soon? She has been sitting up on her own for a while now, and can now get herself from sitting to belly, just not back up. She will also stand at the coffee table for as long as you will sit there with her. Does not need held up at all, just needs assistance with balance if she lets her hands off the table. Can you believe that she is going to be 6 months soon?!? That means that the other Farwell grandbabies are going to be 1 soon. I cannot believe how fast all this is happening.

Well, as soon as I have some open hands and I'm not sleeping, I hope to get some pictures posted. I know they have changed immensely since the last pics I posted. Koralee officially has a fro and is requiring "ethnic" hair products. I was unaware of how bad Johnson's shampoo is for infants. It worked fine for Nevaeh, but apparently it really drys out baby's hair. Found out through the grapevine and through experience now. I'm hoping to get it under control so she won't have to sport an extremely frizzy, sticking-up/out hair-do. Anyway, keep checking for pics. Hopefully will get them up within the week.

Forgot to mention...

So, I forgot to comment on Koralee's 4 month doctor appt last Friday on 12/5. WE ARE OUT OF THE TRIPLE DIGITS!! She was 26" long (97%) and 15 lb. 6.2 oz (90%). He said she was extremely neurologically advanced in regards to her head and neck control. She has rolled over twice now from front to back, but hasn't done it since.

And another thing, Nevaeh went pee pee in the potty!!! She prompted it and sat down and it started spraying everywhere. I was so shocked because we have literally sat on the potty about 100 times and nothing has ever happened. She looked shocked too and was trying to look between her legs at what was coming out, which didn't help the spraying everywhere. I was so proud of her. She got a sucker. Then today (Friday), she did her same old thing. No pee pee. Hopefully it won't take her long to get used to doing it.

We've had much fun lately...

My best friend stops through every year as she's on her way to Wichita for Thanksgiving and Christmas. My girls just love her so much. Nevaeh is still asking for Becky to this day.

Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Farwell's house this year was a blast for the entire family, and especially for Nevaeh and Malia. Half the time they just ran off together doing who knows what. We've been waiting so long for them to be at this stage, so it's fun to just sit back and watch them interact together. Once again, Nevaeh's vocabulary vastly expanded after her short visit with Malia. She is talking non-stop now. Even using full sentences.

Before we know it, all four of them will be running around together. We sure did miss our little man Blake. And Koralee should would have enjoyed Brenna's company. It's fun watching her have conversations with the other little baby her age at the babysitter. She talks WAY WAY more than Nevaeh ever did.

5 of the Farwell Grandkids.

Nevaeh sure loves her suckers. Halloween left us with a surplus of Dum-Dums. She has been getting one a day lately, and at this rate she has about a 2 month supply left.

Koralee loves her Grandma Farwell. I think that baby has some Meyer in her.

Who's hiding behind the Christmas tree? Or should I say "Tissmas Tee". We have been talking a lot about Baby Jesus lately. I'm going to do something special for Christmas this year. I have to work Christmas Eve, so will get off Christmas morning and get prepared for the holiday morning. Hoping to make the unwrapping of the presents into a 'find the present' game of some sort.

Bath time is much better now that we got our furnace fixed. Now that we look back, we don't think it has been truly working sine we fired it up this winter. I was trying to ignore the cold air blowing out the vents, contributing it to the temp of my hands. I know it doesn't make sense, but who wants to think about a broken furnace around Christmas time. Then it started getting colder out and we would wake up in a house that was 62 degrees with 3 space heaters going. We called and that morning they did a quick and fairly inexpensive fix. Our house feels so warm and cozy now! Not so much shivering after baths for the girls.

Why does my daughter find it necessary to act grown up already. I don't think I need to elaborate on this picture.

Here's the finished picture of the girls' wall. Very quick fix, and we think it looks nice. We have many left over so we are thinking about either doing the opposite wall to match, or doing some sort of design on the wall. If you have ever looks at Wall Pops ads, you can do the coolest things with just simple circles, squares, or stripes. I'm sure we can figure out something to do. But for now, the stripped wall border is no longer existent.

Gotta Love 2 Year Olds

My two year old did this. She is forever picking at the corner of things, can find the smallest cracks and crevices, and just tears things up. When she ripped the border off the wall, we had just barely enough to ghetto-style patch it up. I had looked online and cound find all the accessories to match the wall border, but no more wall border. It didn't look perfect like before, but it was going to have to do.

Well, she did it again, only this time longer, and we have nothing to patch it up with. I again got on the internet and searched for this border. Found one on ebay that had been sold in July. So a friend from work told me about Wall Pops that are sold at Lowe's. You can make all sorts of crazy designs, stripes, etc with this large stickers. We got a bunch of those to replace the border for their room. I went to tear down her border, and I just couldn't do it. I teared up and just walked out of the room. Shun and I worked so hard putting that up and we love the way it looks. The paint was bought to match that border, and we just don't want to have to redo the parts that look good still. Initially I told Shun that we couldn't only do just one wall with the Wall Pops because that would look stupid, but now after crying and not being able to tear down that border, that is our plan. I hope it turns out okay. I think it will be cute, just not what we intended to have in there.

Then, she did this. I had received a shipment of nail polish in the mail and I was letting her play with them. I was watching her pretty closely, but I even thought to myself, what if somehow she cracks them together and nail polish spills out. But did I take them away for her, of course not. So then I went up to our bedroom to get ready for work. Nevaeh follows me everywhere around the house no matter what, so in a little bit, here she comes saying "Mommy! Look!" with a huge smile. There she was carrying 5 bottles of nail polish in her arms. I smiled really big and said "Wow, you are holding 5! That's awe......." And then she drops them and they crack togther on the carpet. Bright red polish on cream carpet. Shun has been wanting new carpet in our bedroom since we moved in, so when he got home from work, I told him that I think he got his wish. First of all, it looks aweful and we need new carpet. Second of all, we would never be able to sell the house because it looks like somebody was murdered. As you can see, I started trying to clean it up, but it was hopeless. I don't think there is anything in this world that could get that out of the carpet. So lucky us, we get new carpet!

We've got some catchin' up to do

It's been since Halloween that I posted any pictures of my girls, so here are some recent ones. Koralee is becoming more fun everyday. We are out of that "rough stage" and she is much more smiles, sleeps well, and doesn't have to eat non-stop. Her hair is much curlier than Nevaeh's. Here's a photo of her flat top fade. Back is straight, top is curly and stands straight up. It doesn't help that she has been pulling her hair lately, that just makes it stand out even farther.

Side view of them chunky cheeks and the Farwell receding hairline. She is already wearing 6-9 mo. clothes. She is wearing sleepers that Nevaeh wore when she was walking because the feet are all dirty. Crazy.

Chunky body. She feel like she has to be sitting or standing at all times. If she's in your lap, she does not like to be cradled. She will lie there and do crunches until you sit her up so she can look around. Same way in the car seat. Hates tummy time because she is still pretty gassy, but we are working on getting those arms strengthen to match the legs.

Nevaeh is all about girly things. Loves high heels, jewelry, make up, purse, etc. She decided to make earrings and bracelets out of her link toys. I can already picture her wanting to wear big ole dangly earrings someday. She asked me for a ring the other day so I found an old adjustable toe ring that fit around her index finger. She was walking around all day holding her hand up with her finger sticking straight out.

Whazzup? You got a problem with me?

And finally, last but definitely not least, WE GOT NEVAEH IN HER BED!!!! It really wasn't that hard. We tried it for nap time and she got tearful so I sat in the rocking chair for about 10 minutes and then left. She was fine. Did that the first couple of times she slept in her bed, and since then we just lay her down and walk out just like always. It's great! And best of all, we also got Koralee across the room in the crib sleeping very well also. She started in the crib on Friday night. So far, so good. Nevaeh likes her bed, but she always has to have Baby and Bear Bear. She has had to have those two for a long time now. Since being in her bed, we've added the giant pink Bunny too. Guess they help keep her warm with our old drafty windows.

Not so pretty this year

Previous years, our maples have been so beautiful in our front yard. We have the only house on the block with bright red trees in the fall.

Last year, they stayed bright red for what seemed like a really long time.

This year, not so vibrant. They just kinda started out dark red and seem to be turning orangish/brown. Too bad. Maybe next year they will be prettier.

Our First Halloween

I have always worked on the previous Halloweens, so this was our first outing as a family on Halloween. Nevaeh was a 'Pumpkin Cutie Pie', Shun ended up who we think looked like Kimbo Slice, and I was a punk rocker. Koralee just 'wanted her mummy'. We went to Mall-o-ween at West Ridge Mall and then headed to a Trunk or Treat at a local church. Afterward we headed to my work and met up with some other kids dressed up. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, but it was a long night. We were all very tuckered out by the end of it.

This first pic is Nevaeh trying on mommy's Halloween wig. Don't think she can sport the mullet.

This next picture is Nevaeh getting her face painted by Daddy. She had black triangles around her eyes and a green nose. Most of it was wiped off by the time we got to the mall.

Koralee's shirt says: "I want my mummy". She got called a boy all night.

Daddy's wig and beard/mustache. Isn't he one fine lookin' man.

And finally, Mommy and Nevaeh at the mall. Koralee pretty much slept through the entire mall, which was nice.

That's all for Halloween 2008. We sure did have fun, but I hope that someday I can take my children trick or treating around the country where I grew up. It sure would be a hassle right now with the car seats, but I remember loving driving around to all the neighbor's houses and walking up to their front doors, looking out for dogs. Some people had the same candy every year. I wonder if they would still have the same candy now if I brought my kids?

Curly-Q

I just love this picture. She had that one curly-Q all day hanging down on her forehead. Everyday is something new with her hair. Now when she takes baths, it is down to the middle of her back when it is straight.

$2.79???

Gas is $2.79/gallon here. What's up with that? Wonder how long it will last. What's it like in your areas?

Okay....

So we had Koralee's 2 month appointment on Friday. She was 24" long and weighed 13 lb. 4.5 oz. Dr. Thompson said, "Well, she's officially off the charts. 102% in height, 100% in weight". I know she's a big girl, but WOW. He said, "Whatever you are doing, it's working". Wonder how long it will take for her to outgrow Nevaeh.

Whoops...

I put these pics in a different file and forgot to post them on the previous. As I'm posting this, Nevaeh keps saying "Rrrr-kah, Rrrr-kah". That's her "Erika".

What a good dad. I loved how Kenton's mouth was always open with drool coming out.

Drooling mouth pic #2.

Already geting ready to crawl!

I love my nieces and nephews so much. I wish we lived closer together because they are becoming such good friends, as cousins should.

Weekend of Family Fun!

This weekend we went back home to G&G Farwell's house, along with the Sapps and the Sabetha Farwells. We sure did miss the Iowa Farwells, but they had quite the fun weekend of their own from what I read on their blog.

Grandma pulled out the swings for Nevaeh and Malia. They had so much fun playing outside with each other and Grandma.

Aunt Annie had nap mats that the girls put together as their "house". I think Nevaeh was putting the final touches on nailing it together. I think she's only seen me hammer once and it was awhile ago, but she knew exactly what it was for.

Just threw this pic in for fun. I have the best family! What a great daddy.

Aunt Annie is great with kids. Enjoying a good book.

Koralee got to meet her Great Grandpa Farwell.....

and her Great Grandma Farwell.

It was fun watching Nevaeh and Malia play together. They are 2 mischevous girls. You can tell already how much they love each other. Nevaeh's vocabulary has expanded even more since being home. Malia talks in full sentences, and it seems like each time she's around Malia, she advances a little farther. I'm starting to hear much longer phrases now! Nevaeh and I went to Walmart last night after we got back to Topeka, and we just talked to each other the entire time. It was so fun.