Merry Christmas from Kase to You!!

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hottie

WOW

Hello readers!  I unfortunately don't have Kase pictures today, but wanted to share this blog post with you.  It's long...but WOW is it ever powerful!  What would it look like if we all did this?  Can you imagine the GLORY that would be given to Jesus?!?!  This has been on mine and Keith's hearts lately, and this blog post just encouraged me to do the radical!  I encourage you to do the same...and together we can change Christmas to really be about the Baby, the Savior, THE KING instead of the jolly fat man pictured above.

members of our family

We'd like to introduce you to Kase's closest confidants:

This is Kitty & Whale

He used to call Kitty "Titty" but since then has gotten his K's and T's figured out...thankfully!

And Whale is actually a shark...but we're not telling.

This is how our mornings start.  Kitty, Whale, blankie, and milk.  Usually there are some snuggles and cartoons mixed in here as well.

"HIIIIIIIIII AUNTIE RACHEL! CHEEEEESE!"

 We've recently adopted Puppy into our family as well.

 

 At multiples times during the day Kase can be seen sitting on the couch, with books, "reading" them to Kitty, Whale, and now Puppy too.

tubes

Kase had a rough day...can you tell? :)

Today was a traumatic day for Mommy though!  Well, Kase too, but I think it was worse for Mommy!  Due to the numerous ear infections Kase has had, the doctors recommended a myringotomy (tubes).  Confession, I had to WebMD that term :)

Anyway, I was nervous.  The rules were the same as any other person who has surgery, no food or drink after midnight.  How, exactly, do you explain THAT to an 18-month old child?  Thankful item #1: Not once did Kase mention eating or juice before the nurses took him away. 

I brought plenty of books for him to read in the car and before surgery.  Thankful item #2: Kase loves to read.  This was a great distraction for him...and Mommy :)

 

AND HOW CUTE IS OUR BUDDY IN HIS HOSPITAL GOWN?!?!  :)  We're thinking that next year for Halloween he could rock the "hospital patient" costume!

Judge for yourself...here's a few more pictures of him looking studly!

 

The nurses came to get him around 8:30, and after some tears from Mommy, he was out the door with the nurses.  Thankful item #3: Keith allows me to express the fears in my Mommy-heart and doesn't belittle me when I cry. 

Thankful item #4: The nurses' station had Diet Mountain Dew. :)

The doctor was back in our room 10 minutes later (no joke, 10 minutes) to say that she was finished.  Kase was in recovery longer than he was in surgery!  Recovery was another thing I was nervous about...especially after hearing the other children screaming as they came out of recovery.  But...not Kase!  Our sweet sweet buddy woke up happy asking for Mommy (be still my soul!) and talking sweetly to the nurses.  Thankful item #5: Surgery & recovery went well!

We had some juice, watched a little bit of Elmo on TV, and then we were out of there!

Thankful item #6: Kase was happy, playful, and completely content for the remainder of the day.  He was no different than every other day.  We were beginning to question whether he had had surgery or not!  

 

And now we get to wear these super awesome earplugs that are super fun to put into a squirrely kids' ears (note the sarcasm).

Overall, the day went remarkably better than either of us has expected.  I think it's fair to say we had a lot of prayer warriors today!

After making through this day with a happy boy, Keith seems to think we're stopping with one child.  Oh is he sadly mistaken!  He married the wrong girl to only have one child!  Besides, when we procreate things as cute as Kase it should be illegal to stop at one :)

our weekend

 

Due to the excessive mud in our backyard, Molly received numerous baths this weekend.  

She's pretty stoked!

This Tupperware container provided a boatload of fun for Kase

And finally some Skype time with family!

Happy Weekend!

happy belated thanksgiving!

On Thanksgiving Day we went to Marion to visit some Sietstra extended family.  We don't get to see many of the Sietstra's as often as we'd like, so to be able to spend Thanksgiving together was a great treat!  Keith's cousin has a son (Isaac) who is 6 days older than Kase, and we had a blast watching these two boys together!

They watched Elmo

Wrestled (like most boys do)

 And played with the blow-up turkey outside!

Then, in typical family reunion fashion, we attempted to get a picture with the boys & extended family members!  I didn't get a picture of either of the boys smiling, but I now consider it a "good" picture if the kids are at least looking in the general direction of the camera!

 Happy Turkey Day from our little turkey!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

It's that time of year again, folks!  You know what I'm talking about...that time of year when you become giddy when it snows for the first time, the radio plays non-stop Christmas music, you bundle up your kids to go look at Christmas lights (we always got ice cream during these rides when I was little), and your house looks like Christmas threw up inside (well, at least my house does!). 

 

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!!! 

One of our childhood Christmas traditions that I've carried over to my married life is going to the Christmas tree farm.  A few days ago we bundled up and went to the BEST Christmas tree farm I've ever been to.  There were so many beautiful trees that we only made it down a few rows before we had found the perfect tree!  I suppose it helps that we were the first customers of the season :) Another reason this farm was great was because of the live reindeer!  Kase wasn't a huge fan...he thought they were OK when they were across the pen, but once they started walking towards him he bolted straight for Mommy!

Kase will appreciate the Christmas tree farm someday.  This year, however, he was more interested in poking at the flags in the ground and touching the smaller trees.

He also had quite a difficult time maneuvering the rough terrain, and had quite a few tumbles.  We giggle everytime we see this picture :) hehe

I thought this picture was quite funny, but only because I could tell this was his CONCERNED face.  I looked in the direction he was looking, and saw the reindeer running around their pen.  Kase was quite unsure of them!

And this is the one shot I have of him smiling!

Once we got the tree home, Kase took a super important nap while Keith and I put the tree in the stand and got the lights on it.  I started decorating, but Kase woke up before I was finished, so I attempted to have him "help" me.  He helped for awhile

but then found the beads and was more interested in these than the tree.

Here's our finished product:

 This is another tradition we're starting with Kase...Christmas jammies!

uh oh...we're in trouble!

Mom: "Kase, what are you looking for?"

Kase: "CANDY!!!"

he was quiet...

too quiet...


which could mean one of two things:

1. he was pooping

or

2. he was making a mess



looks like someone found a new fun drawer to play in!

visitors

This afternoon we had some visitors come to our house! Uncle Jeff, Aunt Cara, and Cousin Callie came for a few hours for lunch and to play. It's been awhile since we've seen Cara & Callie, so it was fun to get together again!

This is the best picture I could get of Kase & Callie together:
My definition of a "good" picture has drastically changed since having Kase. I now consider it a good picture if he is 1. looking at the camera, 2. eyes are open. Any smile we get is just an added bonus. :)

This little lady is just too cute, makes me miss the baby days!
Thanks Jeff, Cara & Callie for coming to visit!