Friday, April 30, 2010

Just a normal night

After dinner, we usually play for a little bit before it's time for PJs, storytime, bottle and bed.

Karsten, Scott and Madison were watching cars go by out the front door until Karsten decided to 'pet' Madison. Petting Madison to Karsten means pulling her beard. At first we though Madison hated this but now she will walk right up to him and stay there until he pulls on her beard. I think she likes the extra attention!

Woo hoo! I finally managed to catch a smile - he'll often turn away from the camera these days!

Double high-five!


A new game - Scott chases Karsten. Karsten will crawl away then turn around and stop and laugh. It's adorable - he really cracks himself up.


Working hard as he plays with his animal puzzle pieces.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Happy Birthday David!

We went to Kelli and David's on Saturday to celebrate David's birthday - it was the big 3-0 and we were excited to celebrate with him.

When we got to their house, we watched Trent and Taylor ride bikes for a bit then went inside to play. Trent and Taylor were so excited to play with Karsten - they were showing him their toys, wanting to play with him and tickling him. It was so cute.

Taylor tickling Karsten.


Taylor trying to show Karsten how to look at the camera for their group picture.


It's tricky to get all three of them to look at you - this was as good as we got. '


Karsten watching Trent and Taylor.


Grandpa Rahjes playing with Karsten.


Trent was reading Karsten and I the book he wrote at school. It was a great - he even had an "About the Author" piece at the beginning and a dedication at the end. So cool - I can't wait until Karsten brings books like that home from school.

The birthday boy - I'm not sure he would like this picture to be posted, but it makes me laugh, so I thought the rest of you might enjoy it as well. Sorry David!!


A serious pic of the birthday boy - Happy Birthday David!


Karsten and Aunt Kelli.


Karsten and Uncle David having a chat.
Karsten standing against Scott - this was right before he wiped out face first into the mulch. Poor little guy.

Me and my boys


Karsten had a great time playing with the bouncy 30th birthday decorations.





Saturday, April 24, 2010

Carseats require patience

We have been holding out on moving Karsten into the big boy car seat because it's so convenient and easy to put him in the infant carrier. When he got heavy enough that it was tough for me to carry him up the stairs into Mrs. Gail's, I realized it was time to move him into the big carseat.

Saturday during naptime seemed like the perfect time to install a carseat. Even after reading the instructions, installing this seat proved to be quite the challenge.

Scott diligently reading the instructions



Karsten enjoying sitting in the car without a carseat. This was early on in the process - shortly after this, Karsten and I went inside to get ready for a nap. When I came back out, things hadn't progressed in the installation too much.


See how happy and relaxed this lady is? She obviously did not install the carseat! I also wonder if that child is that happy when he gets into the carseat - Karsten seems to object to getting buckled into a seat. Can't say I blame him - I doubt I would like being confined that much.

Scott seemed to question how much I was 'helping' install the carseat. I was reading instructions to him...that's helpful right? Does it matter that I was reading them comfortably from the back of the car?


TA-DA...the end result. Karsten buckled securely in his new carseat. Once he's in it he's a happy camper. He likes that he can see out the windows more when we're driving.


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Extreme Grandma time

Karsten's daycare, Mrs. Gail, was on vacation on Thursday and Friday, so Karsten got to spend some time with his grandmas. We're very thankful we have family that's able to help us on days like this so we don't have to take off work!

Extreme grandma weekend started on Thursday when Karsten went to my parents house and spent the day with his grandma and great-grandma. Yep - that's TWO grandmas in one day. Do you think he MAY have been a bit spoiled?

A fun new game (and a great leg workout), playing horsey

Hanging out in the highchair waiting to eat. This was the highchair that my dad and uncle grew up eating in. My cousin and I also ate in it at my grandma's. It's ready for another generation.

Gaga and Karsten. When I saw this shirt I had to get it so Karsten could wear it when he saw Gaga. Gaga is very proud of her irish heritage and I knew she would get a kick out of Karsten's "Handsome Irish Boy" shirt! I was right...


Please excuse the drool - he seems to be working hard to cut a new tooth.

And of course they worked on perfecting his new trick.


Then on Friday, Grandma and Grandpa Rahjes came in to spend the day with Scott and Karsten.

Karsten, Scott and Grandma Rahjes playing

Karsten showing off how he can stand on his own!


Karsten really likes to ride on his little car and he talked Grandma into pushing him around.

And then it was Scott's turn to push him.


And this is what happened when everyone was tired of pushing the lil car but Karsten was NOT done with that game. Isn't that a cute little pout.

I think Karsten had a great weekend with all of his Grandmas - thank you so much for spending time with Karsten!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Springtime tradition

Scott is lucky to have a super green thumb - me, not so much. Thankfully our plants flourish because Scott knows exactly how to take care of them. Although I can't keep plants or flowers alive, I really like to have spring flowers at our house. SO, we've worked out the perfect compromise. We pick out the flowers together, then Scott plants them while I keep him company. Karsten helped pick out the flowers this year, but we ran out of time on Saturday to plant the flowers so 'we' had to do it one night this week.

Scott filling up the flowerpot - it takes a LOT of dirt.



Watching Scott plant the flowers - very serious!


Enough of watching Scott plant flowers - the wheels on his stroller were very entertaining. They just kept going around and around!

The finished product - another annual tradition complete for this year. I know the flowers look a little sparse right now but one of the things I've learned as we do this year after year is that a pot that looks like this now will be overflowing with beautiful flowers sooner than later.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Look what Gaga taught Karsten

Karsten's great-grandma 'Gaga' is in town for a visit. One of her favorite ways to get Karsten's attention is to wiggle her tongue back and forth and make noise. When we were getting Karsten ready for bed tonight, he stuck his tongue out. It took us a minute to figure out what he was doing, but then we could see that he was trying to move his tongue - it was hilarious!



Saturday, April 17, 2010

Perfect Saturday

For some reason Karsten woke up WAY too early this morning - after he had a nap, we decided to go to the River Market for lunch and to get a few groceries. He did a great job and spent most of the time watching people. It was very sunny today but a little chilly. He HATES having the sun in his eyes so I put this cute hat on him - it was a little big but it did the trick and he sure looked cute. After a while he realized he could take the hat off and then it was over - no more hat.

Scott and Karsten strolling through the market


He looked so cute in this hat. I can't wait until it fits him a little better.




Chewing on his tigger toy




Having lunch at the yummy greek place. Karsten tried a piece of gyro meat - he didn't seem to mind it.


Picking up a few more things before we left.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Lover Boy

Karsten has been doing a lot better with his balance. He had been standing with his arms perfectly still, but today he started waving his arms around while he was standing on his own!

He's pulling up on anything and everything; however, hasn't really started cruising around holding onto furniture. We're trying to work on walking with him so he will get the hang of him moving his feet - slowly but surely we'll get there!

Look mom - no hands!


He was pretty proud of himself, waving his hands up and down.



He has a great time playing with Madison. He's always 'throwing' her bone and trying to play tug of war with her.


This is as close as I could get to a smile.


He's a big fan of clapping - when in the highchair it can also mean "more".

This is another favorite passtime - he loves to climb over our legs when we are on the floor. Usually he gets high centered in the process and struggles a bit before he can get to the other side. Once he gets to the other side he'll sit there and look pleased with himself. Adorable!