Dakota's Prayer

We were having family dinner at Jichan's one evening for a birthday. We picked up pizzas from Little Caesars and Dakota was asked to say the prayer. It went something like this:

"Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this food. Please bless the pizza and bless the broccoli. And to the Republic for which it stands, with liberty and justice for all. Amen."

We were all laughing tears by the end! And there was no broccoli...

Green=Grouchy

Dakota has somehow mixed Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street, with the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

They now have one name... Oscar the Grinch. :)

She's also combined Snoopy and Scooby Doo... Snoopy Doo

Rock Salt

We were headed into church the other day for a family baby blessing and had our first frost the night before. So, the parking lot and sidewalk had been sprinkled with salt.

On our way into the building, Dakota exclaims with an adoring tone to her voice, "Awe, look Mom... it's snow crumbs!"

I didn't have the heart to correct her. I thought it was too cute.

Hope we have a full winter of 'snow crumbs' before she grows up too quickly!

A few of my favorite fings...

Dakota is pretty darn smart and talks a lot and has a huge vocabulary. However, there a few things she still doesn't pronounce just right that I just adore. So I don't even try to correct her. They grow up too fast!

Anything that has a soft "th" sound she replaces with "f" ie:
fings, fank you, anyfing, norf pole, fink... etc.

theatre=feeter

Theodore (Alvin and Chipmunks)=Fidiore... LOVE that one! So cute!

Alvin=Alavan

Muppets=Muffets

Caterpillar=Calla-pitter

Will add to this later...

Santa

Well Dakota was super excited to see Santa this year and had her list of toys to ask for that keeps changing daily.

Oakley was scared of Santa at first and screamed but finally relented when we gave him a rice krispie treat.

Ryden loved being held.

After pictures were taken, we headed to the car to leave.

Dakota started panicking...

"Uh-oh. We forgot our stuff. Our Barbie car and Repunzel..." (what she requested from Santa moments before)

I had to explain Santa doesn't just hand over the presents. We have to wait till Christmas morning.

The next morn we had the opportunity to see Santa again. This time no kids cried. But Dakota walked up to Santa and exclaimed, "Santa, you forgot our fings!"

I had to explain things to her all over again.

Calm Down

My first day out running errands after the baby was a long one. I took Dakota with me and promised if she was good for the few hours we were out, she could pick out a redbox movie.

She was good and picked out a Barbie movie.

When we arrived home, she popped it in immediately. I sat down next to her to feed Ryden and this conversation ensued:

Dakota: "Maybe we should watch the Shrek movie."
Me: "You want to watch Shrek? Why did we rent the Barbie movie if you wanted to watch Shrek? We already have Shrek."
Dakota: "Calm down, calm down, calm down, Mom. I mean, AFTER we watch the Barbie movie, we should watch Shrek."
Me: "O... K... then." :)

Welcoming Baby Ryden

Ryden was born on Monday in the early afternoon. The kids came to see him that evening for the first time. They reacted pretty much exactly as I expected. Dakota first entered with Betty and came bounding in the room with a huge grin on her face. I watched her eyes scan the room, looking for the new baby. She climbed up on the bed to see me and then I pointed to Ryden laying in the hospital bassinet. She stood up on the bed to look at him. She exclaimed, "He's out! Your baby came out! He's got red cheeks!" I explained that his name was Ryden and she repeated him name perfectly and asked to hold him.

She sat down on the bed next to me and Betty place him in her lap. She held him so gently and just stared at him quietly for a full 3 or 4 minutes. She kissed him and stroked his head and after those minutes of silence, she looked at me and quietly asked, "Can I keep him?"

It was so cute! She continues to be a good big sister. She sings to him, gives him binky and tells him stories. She likes to hold him and talk to him and mimic everything I do with her baby doll.

Oakley is a different story... He hasn't shown an interest in babies ever. Period. We tried to prepare him for the birth and he just did not care. His reaction to seeing the baby for the first time was pretty much the same. He did not care. He didn't want to be at the hospital and was being difficult to start. When he came in, he didn't want to say hi or see the baby. He just ran around and grumbled, and was being destructive.

Finally, Dakota wanted Daddy to see the baby and tried to carry Ryden over to him. Doug took Ryden and finally Oakley was curious. He walked up to where Doug was sitting and got on his tippy toes and checked him out. He pointed at first (a little rough) and then got frustrated and starting swatting at him. He lost interest and walked away. Ryden was returned to me in bed and after about a half hour, Oakley again showed interest in who was taking my attention. He climbed up on my bed and and looked at the baby. Finally, he pointed again. He showed me his eyes and his cheeks and his mouth. Then when I tried to get him to say "baby", he got mad and jumped down. That was about the end of his interaction that night.

Today, we brought Ryden home from the hospital. Dakota showed immediate interest again. But again, Oakley was distracted and irritated. But after about an hour of running around, he finally walked over to where I was sitting and checked him out again, pointing and looking at me with a curious face. I tried to get him to say "baby" and he just jibbered at me, but it was a positive response.

After taking a nap, Oakley came into my room where I was feeding the baby. He climbed up on my bed and gently approached him again. He pointed to his face again and then he said "Bayba". I smiled and encouraged him and he said it a few more times. Since then, he has tried to push the baby in his swing and has shown a little more interest. I think it will get better with time. The first time he heard Ryden cry around dinner time, he stopped eating, turned and just stared at him in amazement. Aunt Melissa came by to visit and was holding the baby for a bit. When Oakley entered the room and saw me without the baby for the first time, he came running over and jumped into my lap. He was so happy to have his own mommy time. I think I will just need to carve out special time for him every day.

We love having a new baby brother in the house and I look forward to all the cute ways my kids will bond over the next few weeks and for the rest of our lives!

Big Sister and Sibling Rivalry

Dakota has always been a good helper and a pretty good big sister. She wakes up before any of us, and so we are in the habit now of leaving the TV on her favorite cartoon channel. When she wakes up, she usually sneaks out of the bedroom and comes in to say good morning, then goes downstairs, turns on the TV and helps herself to some breakfast while the rest of us are trying to get as much shut-eye as possible.

As soon as she hears Oakley wake up, she comes back up and lets him out of the room. The other morning, she let him out and then proceeded to open a package of pop tarts and gave one of them to him. Such a nice big sister! Always taking care of her baby brother.

For the most part, they play really well together and are pretty great friends. However, lately Oakley has started to learn how to get a reaction out of Dakota.

The other day, Dakota had some toy animals all lined up, playing. Oakley ran in, grabbed two animals out of the line-up and dashed out of the room. After she cried for him to return them, he finally brought them back, dropped them on the floor near her and as she reached to pick them up, he grabbed two more out of the line and took off again! What a stinker!

He also has been pulling her hair just to get a reaction.

Let the rivalry begin!

Disclaimer: I do have to admit that often he does just go up to her and give her big hugs and loves her so so much.

More Dakota

A few sayings and conversations as of yet:

Dakota to baby brother in my tummy:
"Whatcha doin' baby brother? Oh? You're just kicking in Mamma's tummy? Okay, you can just kick in Mamma's tummy!" Then she kissed the belly and ran off. And he started kicking afterward ;)

I ran back in church one day to drop something off and when I returned to the car, Dakota was unbuckled and standing by Doug up front. I asked her what she was doing out of her carseat. Her reply, "I'm just telling Daddy what to do. That's my job!"

When Dakota starts to freak out about anything, I usually say something like, "What's your deal?" Lately she is always telling me what she is doing and feeling and follows it up with, "... that's my deal." Even if I haven't asked :)

She is also very into favorites. What's your favorite food? What's your favorite color? And also how old you are, what color eyes and hair you have and if you are her friend, cousin, aunt or uncle.

Not a Great Listener

This is the monologue I got from Dakota on the way home from gymnastics today:

"I am not a great listener. I got up and ran away and my teacher said, 'Don't run away, Dakota. You are not a great listener.' and I said, 'Sorry teacher.' And she said, 'It's okay miss Dakota-bee.' And I got up and ranned away because I was getting a bumble bee on my paper."

So there you have it.

I told her she needed to listen to her teacher. :)

Ko-Da

Oakley is starting to jabber a ton, but doesn't say anything super clearly. But today when he woke up from his nap, we needed to go pick up Dakota from a playdate.

I asked him, "Should we go pick up Koda?"

He replied: "Ka-da!"

I asked him again, "Ko-da?"

He replied again, "Ka-da!"

Then he proceeded to say her name in the car about 20 times on the way to get her and throughout the rest of the day. It's super cute and I love that he learned her name as one of his first words. If you ask him to say "Koda", he will say it back to you and smile with satisfaction. Dakota thought it was pretty cool and asked him all the way home to say her name.

Don't Talk to Me

Doug thinks that Dakota is always partial to me, which is not always true. But nonetheless, the other evening, we were sitting down to dinner. Doug was pushing Dakota's buttons, teasing her and there was a lot of squealing and whining going on. I finally reached my limit with the noise and announced, "OK! Everybody stop talking! Let's just eat dinner, please!"

Dakota's response:

"No, Mamma! Don't talk to me, because I am talking to Daddy..."

(Doug, secretly is sighing a sigh of victory.)

"Daddy, don't talk to me, because I am eating dinner!"

(Doug rolling his eyes in defeat.)

And then both of us giggling under our breath. Trying to keep things serious. LOL

Ya

Oakley is just barely starting to try to talk. One thing he has picked up on is that people say "ya" in response to questions sometimes. So whenever you ask him a question... no matter the question... he replies, "YA!"

He must just recognize the inflection in your voice when you ask a question.

Dakota-isms lately

"I did it awready."

"OH! I diditt know it."

"Nope. I don't seeee it..."

"I like some milk, please"

"I am hungry wif a chocolate milk." (or insert other food item)

"I'm a big gool!"

"And you do it like this..."

"Polka-dot Pizza" = Pepperoni Pizza

If You're Happy...

(Dakota singing...)

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!!
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will smile
If you're happy and you know it, clap your HANDS!

Correction

You will often hear Dakota saying:

"No, we don't do it like that... we do it like THIS..."

"That's not a _______, that's a __________!"

"That's not what I said, I said this...."

Ugh... I get corrected by her at least 20 times a day. It's somewhat exhausting. I love her tenacity but boy can she wear me out!

Lots and Lots of Messes

In the past 5 days, Dakota has:

Flooded the bathroom counter, ruining 2 rolls of toilet paper.

Spilled an entire jar of fish food all in and around the fish tank and surrounding carpet area.

Unrolled 2 whole rolls of toilet paper just for fun in my bathroom covering the floor with heaps of TP.

Dumped 1/3 of a 45 pound pale of hard wheat at Jichan's house covering the entire guest room floor and bed, sprinkled down the hall all the way to the kitchen and scattered a large portion in their master bedroom.

Flooded the kid's bathroom while bathing by emptying 1/2 the bathtub water onto the floor.

REVISED:
She has now also completely emptied a box of tissues.

Completely emptied a full carton of wet wipes.

Dragged a chair, climbed on the counter, reached the very highest shelf in the cupboard, opened the decorating sprinkles and emptied them in a trail-like fashion from the cupboard all the way to the front door. (The red ones stain, too! Just fyi)

One day at a time, one day at a time...

All of these tasks were completed within a matter of MINUTES.

I don't know how she does it, but I am pretty much fed up with messes for the week!

Missing a Baby

Yesterday my good friend Brie came down with her two children to play for spring break. I also had agreed to watch my nephew Mason who is only 5 months old. So, we had Dakota-almost 3, Brooklyn-2, Oakley-1, Peyton-6 months and Mason-5 months. We were crazy enough to go out in public, we 2 vs. 5 kids under 3 years old. We went to Olive Garden for lunch and then Chuck E Cheese to play. At one point, we were loading up the van with all the kids (a huge process) and everyone was loaded except Peyton, who was positioned next to Dakota in the back. Dakota suddenly yelled, "WE'RE MISSING A BABY!" LOL. He was just the last one to be loaded. We cracked up laughing. Pretty observant of her! I guess no kid is getting left behind as long as Dakota is in charge!

Ultrasound

Well, we are pregnant with #3 and very excited. I tried to explain to Dakota that there is a baby in my tummy. She believes me but doesn't quite make sense yet. After our first ultrasound, I showed her the picture of the baby. In her mind, I think the u/s looked like a skirt with a baby on the middle of it. She exclaimed, "It's missing mamma's head and mamma's arms. Where's her legs?"

LOL. I tried to explain it was just a picture of my tummy but she still thinks we screwed up on the picture! haha

Stuck in the Computer

We tried Skype tonight for the first time. We video-chatted with my Aunts Shelley and Kim. It took a while for Dakota to get use to it. At first, she was munching on some chips and Shelley suggested she give her one and opened her mouth wide. Dakota told her, "You can't do dat! You's stuck in the computer Shelley!"

Very true. Very true, Dakota.

ahahahaha... :)

My Mommy, My Kass

Dakota came walking in our room this morning while Doug was dressing for work and exclaimed, "Hey! What are you doing here?" He in turn asked her the same question and she replied "No, because this is my mommy, my Kass."

So there you have it.

Water in My Eyes

Dakota always needs a little adjusting time when she wakes up. The other day, she was having a hard time waking from a nap and was being very sensitive. Something that happened made her sad. Doug was holding her and trying to make her feel better and she started crying. The fact that she was crying seemed to make her more upset and she exclaimed. He asked her why she was crying. She replied, "Because there's water in my eyes! Did you see?!" (tears) We couldn't help but laugh. It was the first time she realized she had tears coming down. She didn't understand what was happening and was so bothered by the "water" in her eyes.

Attitude

Right now Dakota is in this phase where she wants to do everything "all by MYSELF!" It's great and all, except when she gets snotty about it or is taking so long doing that thing by herself that your patience is wearing thin.

Today it was funny. I was in the kitchen talking to Rachel. Dakota walked in muttering something about the potty and headed towards the bathroom. So I asked her "Oh do you need to go potty?"

Dakota:
"No no, STOP it! Don't look at me! I'm doing it all by MYSELF! You just talk Rachel. I go potty all.... by... my... self!"

Sheesh! I was standing at least 1.5 yards away from her. Barely even looked at her. Sorry I asked the question.

She did indeed, however, go to the potty all by herself!

Naptime

Dakota had been down for naptime and it was getting kind of late, so went in her room to wake her.

This is how I found her...


Apparently she fell asleep while reading Hello Kitty :) I giggled.

Some Poo

Tonight Dakota informed me:

"Mama, I have some poo!"

I was a little confused... She was taking a bath.

Oh!!! I get it...

"SHAM-POO"

LOL