New clothes, and the need for chocolate

Gramma sent a package to the girls this week with new clothes for each of them. They were ecstatic, and she couldn't have picked better for them. When Kathryn spotted hers she said, "Oh, Mom, I hope these are mine! It has a belt!!!" When Livie saw hers she said, "Look, Mom, pockets and a zipper!" It's the little things...

Here is Kate modeling her belt:

Maggie got new clothes too, but she wouldn't even smile about them:

Sad, but true:

Sundays are really full days for us, especially now while Brad is teaching a class at a friend's house Sunday night after church for the high school kids. I was so proud of Livie because she had made it through all of the days activities without one single accident: Bible class, church, nap, church again, then during the class at our friend's house. So in the middle of the class when she said she had to go potty, I hurried to take her, and sure enough she had held it, and had to go! I praised her up one side and down the other. Of course, she wanted to know if she would be getting a treat, and I explained to her that we were in the middle of the Bible class and my purse was downstairs, but as soon as I could get to it, she would get a treat. She blinked a hard, long blink and said, "Well. But I need chot-late." She may look like Brad, but trust me, she is 100% female.

A New Look, and a BIG Thank You!

Wow! Many, many thanks to Jamie for my fresh, new look! Didn't she do a great job?!? Jamie and I went to college together, and have recently reconnected via the blogging world. Her blog was so super cute that when she volunteered her services, I jumped at the chance for a fun and cute look. Thanks a million, Jamie!

Now we're back to the original problem. This blog is not exclusively "Kathryn's Korner" anymore, so I'd really love to think of a brand new name. I will be keeping the url as it is (that wasn't smart of me, but oh well), but would love to have a cute, girly phrase for my title. Can you help? I know I don't have the very most popular blog on the planet, but I know I have several readers, and I want to hear from you! Throw them out there, then when I get enough suggestions together, we'll vote on a favorite. Of course, I reserve the right to make the final decision ;)

Best Friends

Don't they look like such big girls going off to school? We were really just headed to the ladie's class at church, but I packed each of them some paper, crayons, books, and a water bottle in their new backpacks from Gramma and Grampa and they thought I had handed them the moon. It was just about all I could do to get the backpacks off of them to get them in their carseats!

"What should I do with these kids?!?"

I wish I was creative enough in my kitchen that I had something interesting to post in Alaina's Keeping Creative Kitchens every single week. Unfortunately, "dinner time" has got to be one of the most stressful times. Honestly. The kids are getting up from their naps (if they've actually fallen asleep), their either cranky or hyper, the phone is inevitably ringing, Brad's on his way home, and I'm trying to think of something that I can make for supper that can be ready when he walks through the door. I've been off and on (but mostly on) for the past year or so with my menu planning, and that has been a true lifesaver. Really. It's great to not have to sit and think about what I'm going to make, and if I have all the ingredients to make it, at the last minute. While that has taken *most* of the guesswork out of dinner planning, my next biggest battle was how to keep the kids out from under my feet while I'm cooking.

Most of the time they're begging to help me, which is okay some nights, but other nights, I really just need to get to work with no interruptions. So, I started blanket time. They each grab a blanket and three books and bring them in to the kitchen floor. I help them spread out their blankets (not touching each other's, obviously ;), and they have to sit quietly and look through their books until Daddy gets home. Sometimes that is 15 minutes, sometimes it's 30 (If I know it's going to be longer, I usually let them grab a coloring book and crayons too), either way I'm getting peace and quiet while I cook, and they are getting the structure that they're begging for! At first they were a little unsure about what was going on, but now they love it! They beg to do "blanket time" all day long! While it would be tempting, I limit it to dinner time so it can be a "special time" that they look forward to while they're waiting for Daddy to get home.

Many thanks to Alaina for hosting Keeping Creative Kitchens every Thursday! Please, join in! More details on her site.

Sweet little girls and Livie's first "shiner"

Just because...

I just stumbled across this picture as I was cleaning out hundreds of shots in Picasa. It's too sweet not to share. Of course, that is only one biased mother's opinion ;)

Oh, and Maggie's started shaking her head no and saying "nananana" all the time. I can't imagine why (?!?) but it's too cute to watch - again, one biased mother's opinion ;)

A Happy New Year

We opted to host "the New Year's Party" at our house this year - mostly so we wouldn't have to leave the party early so our kids could go to bed =). It was such a fun time. We invited the whole congregation, knowing several wouldn't be able to come, and thinking we could probably squeeze all who did in. We ended up with about 40. Everyone broke off into groups and snacked and played games until the ball dropped, then went back to finish up their games before heading out.

Of course, my favorite and most memorable New Year of all was 7 years ago, when Brad proposed to me. Unfortunately, I don't have the ring to prove it =(. I lost it somewhere between here and Pittsboro the week before Christmas. Oh well. At least I have the memories - and a wonderful husband. (and no, it was not insured, and yes, I'm sure about that, so don't ask :-P)

Thanks to all who came! We plan to make this a new tradition!!!

A Holly Jolly Christmas

We had such a wonderful (and busy) Christmas this year down in Tennessee. We started off the festivities at the Petty family annual stocking stuffer. Kathryn really got into Christmas this year, and it didn't take her long to figure out that just about every stop we made meant more presents to open.

Visions of sugar plums?

More proof that it is impossible to get a decent picture of all three kids... Dressed and ready for Santa!

Brad's mom has made each of the girls stockings their first Christmases. I couldn't wait to see what Maggie's would look like this year. She is so creative!

The first gift of Christmas - I guess you can hardly see it in this picture, but it's a baby doll bed. The cutest one ever. And they absolutely love it.

Of course, their favorite thing was to put their real baby in it. And she didn't mind the attention too much, either!

Maggie pretty much slept through all of Christmas morning, but she was able to have some fun when she woke up. She was just starting to pull up while we were there, and by the time we got home she was pulling up on everything, and walking back and forth along the couch. Last week she started clapping! We just love watching this little girl grow up and see her personality really start to take shape. Santa brought her a Leap Frog table and she stands and plays at it all throughout the day.

We had a big fancy meal on Christmas night, then on Friday we went to Opryland Hotel, which was a "new tradition" that we started last year. The lights and decorations are absolutely incredible. This Christmas tree was 40' tall. In all their indoor decorations they use almost 200,000 lights, and 15,000 poinsettias. If you've never been to Opryland at Christmas time, it is a must see.

Of course, Maggie got the best seat in the house.
The whole Pettes family

We've been trying to get back to "normal" since we got home. January is a big cleaning out month for me. Even though I tried to get a head start before Christmas, there are still plenty of cabinets that are so jammed full they will hardly close. Yesterday I took the day to potty train Livie - finally! It went really well, but today we've had some set backs. After going through this once before, I pretty much expected that, but it doesn't mean it's not discouraging. Kathryn seems to have grown up overnight. She has turned into quite the little thinker and problem solver. It's so hard to believe she will be four this year. I don't know where the time goes, but it goes fast. This year I want to take the time to sit back and enjoy every moment of childhood that passes our way. We are so thankful for the three blessings the Lord has given us to shape and mold into His children. We're looking forward to a great 2009.

Happy Holidays!

Maggie grows

Maggie is getting so big, so quickly. Okay, I'll be honest, it's really too quick for me. With your first child, generally speaking, you're so anxious for them to move to the next step, and you're so anxious to watch them grow. By the second, and especially for me, the third (and I'm sure even more so with subsequent children), you realize how quickly the time goes by, and you just want them to slow down! Where has 7 months gone? She is crawling all over the place, saying "dadadada", and her favorite food is sweet potatoes (but she'll eat anything you put in front of her - including beads, thank you Livie.) Even more than being a "Mama's girl" she is her sisters' girl. She is crazy about those two! The other day I had her in the office with me and the girls were in their room playing. I turned around and she was gone! I found her right in the middle of the girl's room, just taking in all the action. They love and adore her just as much. Kathryn is constantly asking to hold her - even though she is almost as big as Kathryn :-O, and Olivia's favorite way to "help" is to feed her. She is so blessed to be so loved, and we are so blessed to have her to love.

In case you were wondering

I ended up with a decent picture for our holiday cards this year (which will not be revealed at this time), but just so you will appreciate it more when you do see it, this is what I was working with...



(The most wonderful time of the year also happens to be the busiest, so there may not be as many posts over the next few weeks.)

Get the camera, Mom!

About an hour after I posted this post about the girls not playing well together, someone sprinkled some magic "get-along" dust over them, and they played great, for a couple of hours actually, without a single peep. I knew they were playing in their room, so I wasn't worried that anything was being "harmed", and I just took advantage of the free sewing time. Olivia ran into the office with a huge smile on her face and said, "Mom, we're putting ev-y-thing in the pat-n-pay (pack-n-play)". (me)"That sounds like fun!" (no worries). Kate comes in a few minutes later with the same grin on her face and says, "Mom, you've got to come see. We put everything in the pack-n-play." (I start to follow) "Wait, Mom. You're going to want to get your camera, then come and see." Ha! She was right! I got my camera and went in to see. They had completely unloaded their bookcase, taken all the blankets off their beds, and were started in on the toy chest by the time I made it in. The pack-n-play was literally bulging from all four sides. At least the "room was clean" =)

I'm pretty sure no one family should own this many clothes. Guess what I'm doing today?

The expected after Thanksgiving post

Thanksgiving ended up being a really fun time. Heidi and I surprised ourselves by fixing a really, really good meal (she fixed most of it =) - in spite of Mom not being there. We ate several meals at Josh & Heidi's, and scored some really great deals on Black Friday. Since Heidi and I didn't have babysitters, we didn't get to go out early this year, so the guys split up the list and trekked out around 3:45am. I ended up hitting JoAnn's and Old Navy, but waited until 10am, which I thought would help with crowd lines, but boy was I wrong...

That evening Brad and I hosted the annual "hometeached" gathering. I guess this makes about the 8th or something like that. I seriously can't remember not getting together the day after Thanksgiving with this crew. Kathryn met her match. She and Meredith (or Mary, as she likes to call her) hit it off. So well, in fact, that Amy and I decided to let the girls just stay up and play instead of trying to get them to sleep through all the excitement. We hardly even saw them. I had to pull Kathryn out of her room to get her to eat her supper. When everyone left at 12:30am, they were still going strong. Every single day since Kathryn has said, "Mom, it would be a really fun day if Mary could come and play again" =)

This was the room after they were done playing. They pretended and pretended and pretended. Too much fun...

Our crew was having lots of fun too playing Trivial Pursuit. Seriously, guys, next year - we're voting NO Trivial Pursuit. Who cares if it's tradition?!?!? I didn't have one thing to add, and we even put one of our newest members to sleep (she said she had a headache, but I'm not believing that ;)

We got to meet some newbies that will be forced to get to join us year after year, Jason's fiance Courtney, and Jon's girlfriend Janna. They were so sweet, and great matches for those guys. I finally got to meet sweet little Ty for the first time. He was so good, and just snoozed in his Mommy and Daddy's arms all night. Brad made Starbuck's Espressos while the night was still young, and I'm thinking that will be a new tradition. We missed some of the old folks who had to go to the in-laws this year, but it was a great time, and we're looking forward to next year.

All in all, the girls did exceptionally well this weekend. They had lots of really late nights and several days with no naps, and still trucked right along, and were congenial and sweet. Unfortunately, today is a different story. They have been at each other all morning. Breakfast went like this:

Livie (singing Little Bunny Foo Foo): Little bunny poo poo I'll turn you into a boon!
Kate: No, Livie, it's supposed to be a goon not a boon!!!
Livie: I know, but I say boon!! (singing louder) I'll turn you into a boon!!!
Kate: NO, Livie, that's not RIGHT!!! MOM, can you help her, she's singing it all wrong!!!

This may not seem like that big of a deal, but it's scenarios like this constantly, one right after the other. I haven't heard them agree on one thing this morning. And the tattling, oh the tattling...

Yesterday afternoon, I was laying on the couch (sick with a cold), and Maggie was on the floor in front of me. She spotted a toy she was determined to have, and took off crawling to get to it! She had "started" crawling a couple of weeks ago, but it was just once every now and then. Now I'd say it's official. She's slow, but steady. Quickness will come (I fear =)

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. Now it's officially time to decorate for Christmas!! Did I mention that it has been snowing off and on for the past two days? Not much accumulation, but a little ground covering, and enough to get me in the Christmas spirit =)