'Tis the Season

Stellan has been helping to get us in the Christmas spirit with some help from his preschool. He's been making super cute art projects (the wreath banner made from green handprints is a keeper for sure), telling us stories and singing us songs. In case you have a soft spot for 4-year-olds singing together, here's an excerpt from his class's Christmas concert, plus a still in case you can't play the video:

Happy Solstice!

Living in Florida, it can be hard to track the changing of the seasons. No changing leaves, no snow, warm(ish) year round. I've had to rely on more subtle cues to decipher these sorts of things. Luckily, this morning Stellan (who, like a good Floridian boy, generally scoffs at sleeping in pajamas and goes more for the underpants-only approach) helped me realize that winter is indeed upon us:

Rachelle Is 1 1/2

Yes, it's true. Rachelle is 18 months old. And she acts every bit of it. Don't get me wrong, she is still just as sweet and good natured and even tempered as ever. But she loves to get into things, take things she shouldn't have and then hide them behind her back while smiling mischievously, and insert herself into big-kid play. She pops out new words everyday and then looks at me with mild disdain when I act surprised. She loves to "read" everything, and will drop any toy to look at a book that catches her eye. She also loves to talk on the "phone", which is in quotes because anything can be a phone to her. She likes to strip off my wristwatch and hold it to her ear: "Hewo... Byeeee."
I've included a video for you at the end of the post, but first, to prove she is still the awesomest little girl in the world, here's an 18-month-old story. In LDS congregations, 18 months is the magical age when kids start attending the nursery instead of you having to schlep them to Sunday School with you. So a couple of weeks ago I was opening the nursery cabinets for our substitute nursery leaders and Rachelle was with me. She looked around, decided to take a seat and play, and then refused to leave. I guess she knew she was just about old enough and that she was ready. So I left her (the subs didn't know she was only 17 and a half months old!). She stayed the whole 2 hours without pouting, looking longingly at the door or crying. She just decided it was time to start nursery and did it. She's been going ever since. In fact, one of the leaders reported yesterday that she is the best picker-upper in the group. Awesome.
So here she is, my sweet RaRa. I love you, sweet thing!

Utah Bound!

Since we got married, Kevin and I have split holidays between our two sets of families. But this year, to avoid costs, holiday stress and various health concerns (not ours, and in the end nothing to worry about), we decided that we would visit Kevin's family in Utah for his dad's 65th birthday in November, instead of in December for Christmas.

We had a great time, as always. Stellan and Rachelle were super excited to spend time with all their cousins and aunts and uncles and of course their doting grandparents. We got to visit with family and also catch up with some of our transplanted now-Utahn friends (I'm looking at you, Flemings and Nelsons!). The fall was a unique phenomenon to my children, who don't remember snow and have never seen fall leaves.

An added perk of going in November was that I got to see my brother Matt on his birthday. He is at BYU, so a quick drive from West Jordan got us to his dorm room. We met his delightful girlfriend Carolyn (none of his other siblings have met her yet - ha ha ha!) and ate way too much Brazilian barbecue.

Dad's birthday party was super fun, and delicious with homemade enchiladas. Kevin's mom Susan put together a birthday bag of 65 fun things to keep him young. All the kids and grandkids were there and it was an event to remember.

When you read this, Grandma, please know that Stellan says to me, "I wish I was at Grandma's house" at least once a week.

Happy Halloween!

Visit to South Florida

Duncan invited us to his birthday party. In Fort Lauderdale. So we went. Just for the weekend, of course.

We had an amazing time. We got to stay with the Odenwalders and hang out with our South Florida pals. In addition to celebrating Duncan's birthday, we were there for Kirk's birthday party too. We ate at Jaxson's, went to the Museum of Discovery and Science and had a barbecue at the Rondas'. It was basically perfect.

These were Stellan's first kid birthday parties. And they didn't disappoint. Kirk's was a paleontological wonderland for preschool boys - they made a dig site filled with plaster bones for the kids to dig up. Then they smashed them to find toys inside. Awesome. Duncan's party was a racecar theme, but not like you've ever seen before. They created a track that covered the entire area of a city park with a gas station, snack stations, an ATM and a car wash. And they begged, borrowed or stole (OK, bought on Ebay) an army of Power Wheels-style vehicles for all the kdis to drvie. They had a faux fast food (McDuncan's) restaurant area, an amazing cake, the best party favor bag I ever saw and way more fun than you thought could fit into an afternoon. Duncan's mom is an event coordinator and caterer, so 'nuff said. You rock, Tiff!

Mostly it was a great time for us to catch up with all the friends we left behind in South Florida. We miss you all tons, wish we had more time to spend there. Invite us back for something soon, OK?

It's a Leia!

We have an important announcement to make: my hair is getting very long (for me, that is.) Oh, also we're having a baby sometime on or around March 20th. And thanks to an ultrasound after breaking my butt, we already know it's a girl. No, she will not be named Leia; it just goes with the shirt. And, in case you don't feel like doing the math, I'm about 17 weeks along. And finally, if this is big news to you, that's because we haven't told people. You're hearing it here first. Way to be in the know!

Baby No More

In the last few weeks, Rachelle has transitioned 100% to toddler. She climbs everything, moves chairs around to climb everything better, knows what we don't want her to get and tried even harder to get it, babbles all day long and is fascinated with her own interactions with the world. She is still so sweet and easy-going, she hardly ever cries when she falls and she laughs the day away, especially around Stellan. For your viewing pleasure, Exhibit A, a photo subtitled "Mischief Managed", and Exhibit B, a video Kevin took.

Baby No More from Krissie Cook on Vimeo.

How I Broke My Butt

Yes, it's true. My tailbone is broken. Or fractured. The doctors didn't want to x-ray it because the course of treatment is the same either way.

But that's not the real news. You want to hear how it happened, don't you?

Yesterday was Kevin's day off. He was in the backyard doing some gardening (not something I help with, any signs of green in my thumbs have withered and died) and Rachelle was playing alongside him. So I decided to sit in the hammock in the mid-morning breeze on our patio. I observed out loud that the outside edges of the hammock were frayed from the most recent tropical storm, but upon further inspection of the center section of the hammock, I deemed it structurally sound. I rested peacefully, enjoying birdsong and rustling leaves, when a new sound caught my attention. It was the sound of ripping hammock behind me. I sat up quickly, so as to make a hasty retreat from the hammock, but I was not fast enough. Just as I sat up straight, the hammock tore off the stand, and I fell straight down onto the oversized hand screws holding the frame together below me. (Insert fat joke here.) I collapsed on the ground in agony, sobbing pathetically for several minutes. Kevin helped me up and I went inside to lay down. The pain was excruciating.

It still is. And the bruise is certainly blogworthy, but also indecent. I'll leave it to your imagination. And do feel free to say something about my broke @$$.

Tornado Warning

Today is Labor Day, so naturally we'll spend our holiday enjoying Tropical Storm Lee. Our town is under tornado watch, so we should be hunkered down in our home listening to the weather report on our emergency radio. Instead, we went out for breakfast at Burger King because they have a playground for the kids, who have been trapped inside all this rainy weekend. Clearly, the playground is unnecessary. All you really need is a couple of high chairs.

Stellan's First Day of Preschool

Stellan started school today. We packed his snack, put on his close-toed shoes and dropped him off. He got to the classroom, peeked inside, then ran in without looking back. We've since discussed how there will be a hug and a kiss before he can enter the classroom. Rachelle is doing pretty well with the change, although she keeps looking around for her big brother. When she doesn't see him, she runs over for a cuddle. I'd say it's going to be a good school year.

NASA Launch

Because I'm a Solar System Ambassador for NASA, I got a special invite to the first post-shuttle launch. This one was for Juno, a probe headed for Jupiter. The invitation included my family, and since we're only a few hours' drive away from the Kennedy Space Center, we decided to go. Stellan had been to a shuttle launch a couple years earlier and had really liked it, so we took a chance and packed our bags.

Although it was crazy hot (Florida-in-August kind of hot), it was totally worth it. We got to skip the main entrance gate and head the VIP entrance. We saw the launch from the Saturn Center on a grassy hill instead of metal bleachers. We got cool info packets and posters. And the launch was great. It was delayed several times, each time for a few minutes, but launched about an hour after its originally scheduled time. And after the launch, we got to tour the Kennedy Space Center as NASA's guests.

We'll be keeping tabs on Juno over the next few years; it won't get to Jupiter until July 2016. The kids will be 9 and 6 by then; they'll be able to say they were there when it left Earth. Thanks, NASA!

Steward Family Reunion

Every 4 years, the Steward family (including my grandfather, his siblings and all their progenitors) gather for a family reunion. We've been going since I was a kid, and I have very fond memories of spending time with my cousins (closely and distantly related) periodically throughout my life. I missed the last reunion because it was 4 days before Stellan was due, so I was extra excited for this one. This year it was held at a family member's farm outside of Portland. It was amazing!

First of all, we did spend some time before the reunion in Portland. We saw some (not enough) of the sights and enjoyed the perfect weather (very welcome halfway through a Florida summer). We also got to see one of my mission companions, Janae, who lives a couple hours away. Oh, and just being on the "Left Coast" felt so good. People spoke many languages and had many skin tones, we watched a cooking demo where the chef highlighted ways to substitute sugar for agave (in case we were unenlightened about agave's natural superiority), and I didn't see a single Bible or anti-abortion billboard.

And then there was the reunion. It was so great to see my siblings (it was the first time in a long time all 4 of us were together), my dad (Maggie was unable to join him - we missed her), my aunts and uncles, my grandfather, my cousins and their kids (most of whom I met for the first time) and to hang out. The whole thing was very laid back and unstructured and far too short.

The kids had a blast, and it was so great to see them playing with their cousins and running around like wild hooligans just like we did when we were kids. I'm so grateful we have these reunions, and also for all the people who worked so hard to put it together. Can't wait for the next one!

Happy Birthday, Stellan!

Stellan is so ready to be 4. He's tired of doing little boy things and wants to be grown up already. He has started playing video games with Daddy, asks questions constantly (and is doing better at waiting for an answer before moving on the next question), helps with dishes, yard work and even sometimes with Rachelle, and says things like, "Sorry, Mom; I can't play with you right now, I'm busy doing Stellan work." Stellan Work includes building train tracks, marble runs and Duplo structures. He starts school in a few weeks, so I'm enjoying the last little while of our morning time together while Rachelle takes her first nap. I love you, buddy!

I'm not ready for big birthday parties yet, so I asked Stellan what he wanted to do for his birthday. His requests were simple: play with Luke and have a triangle cake. Done. I even threw in a bonus swim for being so easy to please. A good-sized collection of presents from grandparents and other assorted relatives rounded out the evening. I hope 5 is as fun as 4.

Happy 4th of July!