Us again... a rather large update.

 There have been so many pictures taken since my last post. We take a lot these days, so we can try to send some to Jeremy in Iowa every few days. Mostly of our little Katy-girl, who is getting so big! She has started rolling from her back to her tummy (even while swaddled - yikes! which means we have to break the swaddling habit...) and is starting to hold toys really well. She still hasn't grown any more hair. :) We're hoping to tackle sitting after she finishes figuring out the rolling thing. We're hoping she can sit by Christmas, so she can open a few presents! ;-)

Here are Reilly and Jaina in "their" bed, with Katy thrown in for the picture.

Reilly is doing well. We've started going to the library preschool program once a week, and he loves that. He isn't so sure about his Sunbeams class here. He'd rather go to nursery with Jaina and do the puzzles... He needs a haircut, but Grandma likes it longer and won't cut it, and Mommy has been lazy... He is a big helper most of the time, and loves to help take care of Katy. He likes to hold her, and is good about giving her pacifier while we're driving in the car.

(dressed up to go to the library program last Thursday)

Jaina is getting so big! Just before we moved here she started sleeping in a toddler bed instead of her crib, (now she shares a bed with Reilly) and she does really well at staying in her bed (unlike her brother). She had a big week this week because she finally got to learn to use the potty! She has been ready for a while, but our LIFE hasn't been ready. She has done pretty amazingly so far.

This weekend has been extremely busy. Friday we helped decorate for and attended Jeremy's dad's 50th birthday party. It was a surprise, and it was a lot of fun. The kids did pretty well, and were of course excited that cake was part of the festivities...

Katy was upset that we wouldn't give her any cake... all she had was plastic to eat.

Friday night Phil, Sophie, and Kinzi also came down. We were so excited to get to see them and spend time with them! Katy and Kinzi were born the same night, but only met (briefly) for the first time a month ago. Currently, they don't look like they could possibly be related...

They came to Grandpa's party with us, and bright and early the next morning Uncle Phil helped Jaina and Reilly carve pumpkins. Sophie let me tag along with her and her friend to Fall Sing. I enjoyed that - one thing we've missed while living in Iowa is EAC's fine arts productions.

 That evening we (minus Reilly, who had a stomach ache) trick-or-treated to Great Grandma Cohn's, then went out to the crazy crowded Trunk-or-Treat in Pima. Jaina and Katy were both troopers. So was Kinzi, after we finally reconciled her to wearing her lion costume. It was no easy task.

Today (Sunday) we went to church (minus poor Phil, who was getting a cold) and then this evening I went up to Thatcher to do more Halloween stuff with Jeremy's family. We had a yummy dinner and trick-or-treated with Grandma, Chloe, and Ashley. It was a little crazy since most of the town seems to have trick-or-treated Saturday night, but we still had fun (minus Jaina, who was not a very cheery Funshine Bear after she crashed on a curb)... I think we went to maybe a dozen houses, but since there weren't a lot of porch lights on tonight, it was a pretty long walk for the two 2-year-olds especially. Poor Katy tried to hang in there, but had had a very long day, and only two 30-minute naps since noon. The poor thing screamed the whole way home, and I had a hard time calming her down even then. We had fun, but I think I'm really glad that Halloween is over this year!

To see more Halloween pictures, check out the Facebook album here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=302629&id=525931074&l=5dc66778ff



4-month photoshoot

Our little Kathryn Emily turned 4 months yesterday! In some ways I can't believe she's that old, in others, it seems like it's been forever since she was born. So much has happened! She isn't doing anything groundbreaking (not even really rolling over yet) but I haven't been nearly as anxious for her to grow up (as I was for Jaina to, with -2- babies to care for!) and I haven't done much encouraging. I don't even like her to "sleep through the night" as she might hae done quite a few times in the last month or two. If I wake up at 3 or 4 and she hasn't woken up, I pick her up and feed her anyway, since I'm always so nervous about my milk supply. She is still nursing exclusively though, which is super exciting, considering Jaina stopped nursing completely at this point. We went out the night before her 4-month mark to celebrate that achievement. Here she is all dressed up to go eat Mexican food:

She doesn't usually get to wear the cute sleepers she has because it's still so HOT here. It's been in the 80's mostly, even though it's mid-October. I am glad to be here, but DO miss the fall colors and weather. I guess I'd better get used to this heat again though...

Emily left her Jumperoo here, and already Katy is doing much better at standing up in it. She doesn't -love- it, but it can entertain her for a while, which is really nice.

Here is Katy modeling her Halloween sleeper. It's so funny, because my other babies almost lived in sleepers (because they were born in fall/winter) but I get so excited when Katy actually gets to wear one...

And here are some pictures from the little 4-month photoshoot I did for her yesterday. We didn't get to go to church, because Reilly had been up in the night with a croupy cough and Jaina woke up with what seemed to be a touch of stomach flu.

Thankfully, Jaina was feeling better by the end of the day, and Reilly seemed fine. I think all 3 kids are getting a cold though. They were all up in the night (again), and Katy's nose is running, Jaina had a low fever first thing this morning, and Reilly is hoarse. Oh well. Wish us luck!
The kids got to go to the pumpkin patch with Grandma & Grandpa Kerrigan Saturday, and hopefully I'll post some pictures from that soon. We are also looking forward to Phil, Sophie, and Kinzi coming down to go trick-or-treating with us next weekend, and I'm hoping to be able to sneak off to EAC's Fall Sing next weekend as well. We've missed that while we've been gone!

Coasting Along

In general, we're not up to much. It is a lot of work to take all three kids anywhere (especially in my Mom's little Altima, and especially with Katy's nap schedule) so we mostly stay home! Which is fine. It is still nice to not be by myself while Jeremy's super busy and it's good for the kids to spend time with their grandparents. Poor Reilly is acting out quite a bit when pressed (to share, mostly, about 50% of the time) but I try to remember his whole little life is a bit upside down right now, and he's definitely missing having Daddy around. Both kids are having a blast playing outside so much though, especially with the trampoline.
I have been avoiding being outside lately, due to how appealing I seem to be to the Arizona mosquito. I currently have 23 bites on one calf, and 8 on the other. At least half of those were acquired without ever going outside! The mosquitoes get inside and then hunt me down, apparently. I guess I just have to start wearing insect repellent around the clock right now, as distasteful as that is. The kids have some bites too, and even one or two on poor little Katy! I really hate mosquitoes...
Katy is doing really well. She is nearing 4 months, and working on rolling over (both ways - so close!), soaking every piece of clothing we put on her (with drool) and grabbing anything and everything in reach. She prefers to then transport it to her mouth, to see how it tastes. She is still nursing well, and seems to be gaining weight. At 3 1/2 months she was 13 lbs 10 oz. and 24 inches long. She is a big girl! I just got this nifty pocket carrier for her, and she's already a bit big for it. (at least in the front carry)

She doesn't have a LOT of patience for being on the floor, (Why should she, with a mommy, and Grandma, Grandpa and an Uncle Spencer to carry her around?) but she is getting good at grabbing her toys.

She makes lots of funny faces for us to laugh at. She loves Reilly and Jaina to talk to her. Most of the time she is a super happy baby, and it's not hard to get a smile! We've had a few rough nights lately (between Katy and Reilly) but mostly she does pretty well. She goes to sleep between 7:30 and 9 and sleeps until between 7 and 8 (waking twice and sometimes only once! on good, normal nights).

Jaina is actually doing fairly well. She is acting out LESS now that we're here, compared to how she was the first couple months after Katy was born. I guess we just have to ride these things out? She is, however, super emotional. We don't know whether to attribute that to all the recent changes, or just to her being a  2 1/2 year old girl...

Reilly and Jaina love to help Grandma with whatever she's doing, and she is sweet to let them try quite a few little tasks. Here they are "helping" her wash apples to make into applesauce. They also got to help turn the apple-saucer and, of course, have been helping to eat the result! (along with large quantities of yogurt, which Grandma is always nice to let them have)

Grandpa has to work a lot, but he is a great Katy-holder and kid-wrestler. He and Reilly have been having quite the time with pillow fights. I guess you can't really call them fights, as Reilly hasn't quite learned how to swing the pillows back at him with any accuracy.

Jeremy has been hard at work in Davenport taking his LAST final at Palmer, getting really close with his clinic numbers, and preparing to study for his Part IV Boards. As we speak, he is in Atlanta, Georgia for the NUCCA Conference. I'll try to get him to send me some pictures to post for his fans. ;-)

This last weekend was super busy (for me) because we had our 10-year class reunion. It was a little crazy to be out and about 3 days in a row, as I'm very not used to it! It was too crowded and busy at the football game Thursday night to take any pictures, and my camera battery was dead Saturday, so I need to get my hands on some of those, but here are two pictures from Friday night at the Branding Iron. The first is with spouses (or babies, in some cases) and the second is just class members that were able to make it. (minus one or two that had already had to leave). It was fun to see everyone (well, about half of our class), and in most cases, crazy how people were so much the same. I guess it has only been 10 years. Hopefully the 20-year reunion will be even more fun, and some of us will have changed a little more! :)

Quick update

I am trying to hurry and get this done tonight, though I need to get to bed ASAP, because it will make me feel less guilty for never writing my dear little brother, on his mission in Africa. ;-) Hi, Dave.
So everything went pretty well. Our trip was good; the kids did as well as could be expected on a 3-hr flight. The check in lady was super amazingly nice, and didn't charge us for our extra 4th bag (we had prepaid 3) plus was very happy to give Jeremy a pass to take us to the gate. Nice people helped me with our carry-ons getting on and off the plane. Katy had a really hard time napping, but she only fussed. No screaming. No dirty diapers. Reilly only had to use the airplane bathroom once, and it wasn't when the seatbelt signs were turned on. The DVD player battery lasted all the way through a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD and part of a Baby Einstein, but the kids did fine before and (mostly) after it. My dad came with my mom to pick us up, and it's a good thing, because I don't know HOW we would have done 3 kiddos, 4 (right at 50 lbs) bags, and 3 carseats. Did I mention we left nice 60 degree weather in Davenport and it was 108º in Mesa? :)
Anyway, we made it home to Pima, and the kids have been so happy to be here with all their grandmas and grandpas, an aunt, an uncle, and a cousin! (plus, we got to meet up with Sophie and Kinzi at Toys 'R Us before we left the valley, so Katy and Kinzi could meet. They were born the same night!)

Here are a few pictures I've taken so far. (Most of these are already on Facebook; I'm trying to take a lot for Jeremy, since we'll all be missing each other for about 7 weeks still!)

Loving the kitty. She puts up with them for the most part.

With Great-Grandma Cohn!

Finally meeting Grandpa Kerrigan!

Katy is getting so big!

And still very cute!

Grandpa loves

Playing Legos with the kitty

Since Reilly has never had a birthday in Arizona, his grandmas couldn't resist throwing him a party. It was a lot of fun, and Reilly and Jaina were super excited. They got to eat cake and ice cream, meet some kids here their own age (thanks for coming, Rays and Caseys!) and have a super fun evening! It was probably even worth the added mosquito bites...