Love for the Littlest Little

As I was perusing the blog as well as all some pictures that my hubby so graciously downloaded for me last night (ok, some really means literally thousands of pictures - please don't judge), I realized that the littlest of our littles is in dire need of little shout out. So today folks, its all love for the littlest of our littles.

Whoever coined the term, "third time's a charm" knew what they were talking about. Ten months in, Miss Eastyn Kate is certainly a charmer. She is a flirt. She is quick to smile and giggles A LOT. She still doesn't have any teeth. It doesn't appear that she will be getting teeth anytime soon. She has the best belly laugh. She loves puffs and vegetables and meat. She doesn't care for fruit. Lately she has been on a baby food strike. She thinks table food is the bomb diggity. She makes our middle little Sutton Grace, who is known to always go with the flow, look high maintenance. She screams (loud) when you don't feed her fast enough. She lights up when Emme walks in the room. She is starting to look less scared when Sutty gets in her face. She loves to play peekaboo. She has more hair than her sisters did at her age (unfortunately that's still not much). She loves the bath tub. She makes our day when she leans in and opens her mouth for "kisses, kisses, kisses." She growls. She is a snuggler before naptime and bedtime. She is busy. She is adamant that there is no talking or singing while she is having her bottle--it must be completely quiet while she eats. She loves to swing. She has quick hands. She crawls at lightning speed. Her weight and height have been perfectly proportional at each of her well-baby checks. She is the "runt" of the family (if you take her mama out of the mix). At 9 months, both her height and weight were in the 75th percentile. When she is really mad she arches her back and her face gets as red as a tomato. She is starting to cruise. She actually likes Riggs. She digs her binky, but only the 0-6 month version--tried the 6-12 month and she wants nothing to do with it. She loves music and dancing. She is a mama's girl. She rises most days before the sun. She is fast asleep most nights before 6:45 p.m.

Can't imagine life without Kate Kate. As Travis would say, "You'd have ten more kiddos if you knew they'd all be like Baby E." I should clarify that does not mean that we're having 10 more :-)

Wandering

As I’ve said many times over, the primary reason that I try to blog (on an as often as I can basis) is so that someday my three loveliest ladies can get a glimpse into their childhoods and perhaps have a few laughs or shed a few tears over the ghosts of holidays, milestones and plain old everydays past through their mama's eyes. Selfishly, I also hope that someday they will have a feel for the thirty-something me who was making her way through all of the things that she couldn’t have imagined when she was their age—juggling being a wife and a mommy, having a career, being a daughter, sister, friend, co-worker… you get my drift.

Most days, ok every day, I feel like I’ve got a lot of balls in the air. I’ve got a lot to think about, but my mind still wanders… probably more than I’d like to admit. I’m sure all of you are shocked :-).

I happened upon a quote the other day that totally spoke to my wandering mind… “If you want to know where your heart is, look to where your mind goes when it wanders.” Nine times out of ten, the pics below illustrate where my mind goes when it wanders… without a doubt they are where my heart is.

Kindergarten, Frogs and Table Food--Oh, my!

Yikes! My camera has been working overtime the last two weeks… Unfortunately, I have yet to download most of the pictures. Hopefully it will happen this weekend. However, I’m not making any promises. The big girls both start fall soccer and mama has a birthday to celebrate!

Big, big things have been happening at our house, folks. In a nutshell:
1) The biggest of our littles graduated from Preschool and started Kindergarten last week. She is LOVING it!

2)The middle little became the second Antholz lady to be in the Frog class. She is LOVING it!

3)The tiniest little (who is not so tiny anymore – she actually has grown two inches since June and weighs in at 20 lbs) is refusing baby food at 9 months. Seriously, the kid has NO teeth and doesn’t appear to be going to get them anytime soon, but she is only LOVING table food! One caveat - the servers at the restaurants we frequent--not loving Eastyn so much.

So until I get the “official” first days of school pictures downloaded, we'll have to enjoy those snapped with my phone. Seriously, what did parents do before they could capture all of life's magical moments on their cell phones?!

People who don't "have to" love your kids...

As Emerson, Sutton and Eastyn’s mama, I’m clearly biased. Their firsts, milestones and everyday accomplishments amaze me and make my heart swell with pride. Let’s be honest, I sort of have to love them. I can’t turn it off, it’s in the DNA :-). You know what amazes me and makes my heart swell a little bit more—the fact that there are people in their lives (who are not related to us) who are just as amazed and proud of the girls’ firsts, milestones, and everyday accomplishments as we are.

This summer I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the people who don’t “have to” love our kids. La La, who cared for Sutton until she was 18 months old, and her husband Michael moved from Lincoln to be nearer their family—our loss is definitely Iowa’s gain. Krys, who has been our go-to sitter for the last five years. Anne, Eastyn’s daycare provider, who elicits smiles and happy squeals from Baby E every morning when we drop her off. Emme’s teachers, Cari and Alyse, at Little Kingdom, whose thoughtful messages sending Emme off to Kindergarten brought tears to my eyes. Sutty’s Bumblebee teachers who told me the other day how much they are going to miss “their princess” when she moves to the Frogs. The list goes on.

When I returned to work after having Emme and was struggling with not being with her all day, every day and the whole daycare thing, a co-worker with a lot of life and wisdom under his belt said very plainly, “just always remember that you are expanding the circle of people who love your children and who they love in return.” Although it made me feel better, I probably didn’t really get it then. Today, I assure you that I get it.

I am humbled and so grateful to those people, who don’t “have to,” but have made the choice to love my children! My kiddos (and their parents) are better for having them in their lives.

Letter from a first-time Kindergarten mama

On the eve of Emme's Kindergarten open house, I started to think about what I would share with Emme's new teacher if I could. Obviously, she will get to know her well over the next year, and I imagine that I will have the chance to share some tidbits, but given the chance to share more...

Dear Mrs. Penner,

I imagine that you received the “basics” on my first born when you learned that she was going to be in your class this year—name, age, where she went to preschool, etc. However, as I anticipate her transition into Sheridan Elementary, I thought that perhaps I’d share a few more things about Miss Emme…

She knows the rules and isn’t afraid to follow them (99% of the time). She loves to play school—as long as she’s the teacher. She likes learning new things. She doesn’t like to make mistakes. She swims an awesome freestyle. She loves Husker football. She loves shoes—the more bling, the better. She believes in the Tooth Fairy, Disney Princesses, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. She makes her baby sister Eastyn’s face light up when she walks in the room. Her favorite way to wear her hair is in a “whole pony.” She is smart. She insists on picking out her own clothes. She smiles when she asks why her little sister Sutton always wants to copy her—because she already knows the answer. She is proud that her sister wants to be like her. She loves Taylor Swift and Justin Beaver. She is logical and practical (for a five-year-old). She loves peanut butter and honey sandwiches. She is thoughtful. She prefers things her way and on her terms. She loves markers, paint, sidewalk chalk and anything having to do with doing “projects.” She is competitive. Even when you think she’s not listening, she absolutely is and she’ll likely prove it to you hours or even days later. Her favorite princess is Jasmine. She loves books. She can be sensitive and cautious and sometimes quiet and shy. She can be silly and loud and has a strong will. She loves to help. She might act like she doesn’t care, but she really does. She loves art—drawing, coloring, cutting, gluing, etc. She likes to cuddle. She is slow to open up, but when she does, she is all in.

Thank you in advance for the time that you will spend teaching, nurturing and molding my oldest little. Enjoy her. Appreciate her. Engage her. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Sincerely,
Amber Antholz, A first-time Kindergarten mama

Camp Sheridan

Last Thursday and Friday, Miss Emerson got her first taste of Kindergarten in Mrs. Penner's class. She attended "Camp Sheridan" with her new classmates. And she liked it... A LOT! To quote Emme, "Hey Mom, now that I know Kindergarten is so fun, I don't need to go back to Little Kingdom."

So, it is official. My first born baby girl is headed for the next phase with a big, huge (that second adjective is for her daddy) smile on her face, her pony tail bobbing back and forth and a skip in her step. I am smiling because she is smiling. I will skip because she is skipping. Although I would be lying if I didn't admit that I'm not pushing back a twinge of sadness as I think about how quickly my first born is growing up,
I am truly excited for her next phase--for all that she will learn and experience and the little person that she will become.