San Antonio Zoo

We finally made it to the zoo in the late afternoon, which actually ended up being perfect... not as hot or busy. We had a great time taking in all the animals, which were so glad for the sun after a long week of rain. Seth loved posing for pictures so I had to work to catch him not looking at the camera for a change. Here is our little man...

Karsyn spent most of the day excitedly pointing at animals, although it took some work at first. We would point each animal out to her and she would just stare at what seemed like nothing, then her eyes would get wide when she finally spotted it and the bouncing, pointing and "oo, oo, oo, oo" began. She loved every minute of the day!

Seth on the other hand played navigator and spent a good part of the day like this... He would see an animal and pause briefly, then look back at the map and give directions to the next animal. The SA Zoo's Africa section has been under construction for a long time and part of it was finally open and he really did enjoy that though... along with the other BIG animals.

Some of our favorites. . . cute Mr. Bear, giant Rhino, and baby Monkey. . .




Taking a break. . .

More favs. . . Ostrich and egg, Alligator, Elephant, and Bald Eagle. . .

Rainbow popsicles cooled us off. . . (I couldn't get a good pic of K trying to eat one because she was constantly hopping to try to get another bite.)

We always take pictures either coming or going from the zoo on their big lions at the entrance. This time I only took one picture. . . you can see why. . .

Daddy's little girl peeking at more animals. . .

And for the Kappas reading out there. . .

15

Our sweet Baby K is 15 months old! Doesn't she look big in this picture too! All this time I thought she wasn't listening and she is proving me wrong on a daily basis now. She is really getting good at the signs I have taught her (time for me to learn some more). Karsyn does 10 signs consistently and I'm sure that her words are soon to follow. She is such a funny little one... always laughing and playing games with us. She would spend the majority of the day outside if I would let her - I'm going to have to invest in some really good sun screen for this girl. When she is trapped inside she can typically be found being a sweet little mommy... carrying her baby under her arm, phone plastered to her ear, working hard to maneuver her stroller around furniture. (Is that how she sees me? Hmm...) She is so sweet with her babies though. Today I saw her pushing one baby in a stroller and carrying the other baby in a baby carrier. She also had her purse on her other arm with a teddy bear tucked inside. Just too cute!

Greenhouse

Okay, so someone asked why I haven't been blogging... well... it seems that when I sit down to blog I feel the need to catch up on everyone else first. After I spend time reading EVERY one else's blogs, I am tired and ready for bed and no longer want to blog. So, there you have it.

Today will be my exception... My greenhouse.... a.k.a. my dining room area. Yes, it is doubling as a greenhouse this week. You have to understand that in this great state in which we live, spring seems to come deceivingly early (meaning that we had MANY 60-70-80, and even a 90 degree days in February), so I felt compelled to plant my herb garden and a few other plants on March 1st. Needless to say, I was reminded that spring has not officially come yet, and we had 3 nights this week when the temp dropped close to freezing. I love my sweet baby plants and pulled them inside to keep a watchful eye on them. This weekend is suppose to be sunny though so we'll all go out and "play" and bask in the sun together. :) We are also hoping for warm weather during Spring Break... Seth loves to help plant veggies in our mini-garden.

Other things in our life seem pretty regular/boring and not blog worthy right now. I have added some pictures from random moments over the past couple of months that I failed to blog about though...

First time to vote (not me... but Baby K joined me at the poles and got a sticker as well)...

Seth getting ready for the 100th day of school. Each student made a poster at home to represent 100. Seth chose to use crayons grouped in tens and sorted by color. I helped him measure his squares and worked the hot glue gun, but he designed the rest. Good job Seth! He is such a precious sweet hearted boy. I am not ready for him to grow up, but at the same time, it is such a joy to see him learn so quickly and reading with him is so much fun!

Karsyn's first black eye! I took this picture about an hour after she ran into the chair and she was already going black between her eyes. I should have taken a picture over the next couple of days as it got really black and purple, but alas I did not.

Karsyn learns to play peek-a-boo. (These pics were taken a couple of months ago and sadly, the game is not as fun anymore.) She still has trouble getting her hands on top of her eyes and often peeks between her fingers.... I think she thinks we can't see her. Silly girl!

First Birthday

Okay, so, I noticed that Karsyn is 1 year, 1 month, and 1 day old today (thanks to my sidebar ticker)... seems like I should get around to posting some pics of her first birthday. She had a blast smearing pink icing all over her face! Seriously, the pictures speak volumes... take a peek at our little princess...

Opening gifts is a strange concept to Karsyn. She seems to think that they look pretty they way they are... all wrapped up. It takes lots of coaxing to get her to even try to tear a small piece of paper. But hey, it was good practice for Christmas.

Karsyn's first tea party with Mammaw and Seth!

I will try to make a point to post a few pics from Christmas soon - assuming Easter doesn't come first - *wink*

Cleaning the Bathroom

A person might say that cleaning the bathroom is not my favorite of cleaning duties (probably because it was one of my weekly chores growing up)... well tonight might possibly have topped all of my bathroom cleaning experiences so far!

It all began around 3am this morning when my brother-in-law called me and was on his way to my house. Sweet baby Henrichs had decided to make his entrance into this world and Russell was on his way to drop off my niece, Tess. I woke Drew and got him to help me set up the pack-and-play in our room. We moved Karsyn upstairs so Tess could sleep in the crib (hoping that would feel more like home and make her a little more comfortable). Tess was WIDE awake when they arrived. Seems that she was taking notes on the L&D floor at the hospital when they dropped off her mommy. Tess and I cuddled in the rocking chair for a while and then she went to sleep. The next morning, we all woke up and headed to church. Again, everything went smoothly... and so the day continued... lunch, nap time, visiting Mommy & new baby brother at the hospital, care group, and dinner. Then came bath time... Seth took his bath first and was rinsing off about the time I added both girls to the bubbly water. He thought it looked like fun, so he hung out a little longer to watch them splash and giggle and have some fun (note: Seth definitely didn't want part in their fun. He stayed huddled on one end of the bathtub just watching. Andrew was also laughing at all of the wild splashing going on while he stood in the background - waiting for me to hand off one of the girls to him.) About the time I made Seth get out and dry off, I noticed something.... beneath the small layer of bubbles was what appeared to be a leaf... but from where? "What is THAT!" I said with an air of disgust in my tone. Drew peered over my shoulder and started laughing uncontrollably... that is until I told him to do something about it.

Seth was SAFE! He was out of the tub and drying off. Both of the girls still seemed to be in danger of the object obscured by the floating bubbles. We moved the girls to the other end of the tub (where Seth had narrowly escaped) and watched in horror as the bubbles faded with the draining water. It was POOP! And not a little bit either... a BUNCH! What to do? The girls? Clean? How? Panic stricken, I yelled for Drew to get the girls and keep them out of it. I will spare you the gross details of the cleaning process, other than the smell almost made me sick. Between tears of laughter and sickness, Andrew and I somehow seemed to get the tub clean and ready for yet another bath... this time with no treacherous bubbles to block the view!

Karsyn and Tess had a good time splashing again (a lucky day for them they thought... two baths in one night... YIPEE!) Finally, both girls were clean and smelling good again. The world seemed all right. Drew had Tess on the changing table and I had K on the floor (enjoying the sweet smell of baby lotion as I lathered her up). Bedtime was within sight, when Tess started coughing. The small cough began to grow and didn't stop. Andrew picked up Tess and headed for the bathroom to get a washcloth. I happily continued to breath in the sweet smell of baby lotion (trying to get the poo smell out of my nose). Suddenly, Andrew yelled, "HELP!" My casual reply of, "Just a sec. K needs a diaper." didn't set well with him. I left K diaperless in her bedroom and went down the hall... only to find Andrew standing by the sink, still holding Tess, with a look of utter disbelieve on his face. The smell hit me when I walked in the door and I jumped back to get a better look. Andrew kept saying, "It's on me. It's on me. It's on me," but I didn't look at him. The "cottage cheese" sprayed literally ALL OVER my bathroom was enough! I mean seriously... have you ever really gotten a good whiff of curdled milk? As if the sight of the "cottage cheese vomit" wasn't enough, the smell would literally knock you down! After about the fourth double-take, I held my nose (because taking a deep breath before tackling the job would have been like death) and began giving orders. Andrew gave Tess her THIRD bath of the night while I began the brutal job of cleaning up. (Poor Seth was in his room, afraid to come out. What is it? Should I come in there? Is everything okay? -- In which my response was, "Just keep Karsyn out!")

So, as I cleaned, Andrew finished getting the kids ready for bed. Milk for Karsyn (none for Tess). A bedtime story for all and finally sweet dreams. Hey, it's really not that bad. I was going to clean the bathrooms tomorrow anyway (as my mother-in-law is coming to see the new grandbaby). So, scratch that off of the to-do list for tomorrow - WOOT!

Oh and on a VERY happy note. I have a beautiful (or handsome) new baby nephew! Zachariah Jefferson (going by Zach) was born this morning. He is a doll (or at least Karsyn thought so & she just couldn't get enough of him). Congratulations Russell, Apryl, and Tess!


The girls having some fun (during bath #1)...



Bedtime story for all...

And saving the best for last... Sweet baby Zach meets his big sister (I'm not really sure she understands that he gets to go home with her - should be interesting *wink*)...