Merry Christmas!

Countdown to Christmas!... here is our Christmas card this year.

Hope everyone is having a great week leading up to Christmas! Tomorrow, Dan and I get to see some friends from college, and Saturday we head up to Duluth for the week! The girls are doing great- they have little colds but just a runny nose thing.
    The two year appointment was fine. The doctor said Sofia's weight gain was getting better. She weighs 19 lbs 8 oz and is 32 inches tall. She made the growth curve for her REAL age for height (not so much her weight)! Her head is 45 percentile for her real age too (they have all been on the growth curve for their head sizes every appointment so far).
  Madeline is 22 lbs 6 oz and is close to 32 inches tall (which is hard to get accurately anyway- I think they're the same height).
  Josie is 21 lbs 2 oz and also close to 32 inches tall. Both Josie and Madeline had similar sized heads to Sofia. Nice big brains! The doctor thought the girls were developmentally on track- similar to other 2 year olds. We don't have to return for another year. (Let's not come back for illnesses, OK, girls?)

Have a very Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays!

Two years old! (Belated birthday post!)

I had the intention to write a post closer to their birthday, but this is the best I did!   What a bittersweet time of the year. Two years ago today, James was still alive, though at this point we were getting to be certain he was brain dead. Their actual birthday was a happy day, but we knew it was just too early. 27 weeks and 1 day...definitely not even close to my hopeful (maybe lofty?) goal of 32 weeks.
   On the other hand, look at our three healthy girls! We couldn't be luckier in how they turned out. In early winter of 2009 we weren't sure if Sofia would pull through her sudden illness/surgery, whether Madeline would resolve her unexplained blood gas issues or even whether, late in the NICU stay, Josie would be sent home with a trach. Now, they are pretty much like any other 2 year old! (Maybe too much like a 2 year old lately!)
   We had some family over for their birthday party this past Saturday. It was more low key than last year (when they had a party on top of a reaffirmation of baptism). They got a lot of fun presents and had fun opening them.  Their BIG birthday/Christmas present they couldn't open- both sets of grandparents chipped in to get them a sweet play set. Of course, we also had cake at the party. When we sang to the three girls, Sofia started bawling! I felt bad but I still got a couple pics. All three of them get pretty hesitant around a crowd, which I am sure is common (but I'm more introverted than extroverted so I could have passed on those genes).
   

Party before the party

The girls and grandma

Opening presents with mom and dad by our side (the room was filled with people, though!)

We're ready for some cake!

Sofia: "wait, I didn't agree to the singing part!!!"

Sofia exhausted by the end of the party (laying on her new sleeping bag)

Here are some random 2 year stats (besides weight/height- I'll give those next week after their 2 year appointment)...

Sofia
favorite food- I would have to say blueberries, but she definitely will eat all the lasagna or scrambled eggs you put in front of her. She would mostly prefer fruit to anything else.

favorite toy- stuffed animals (especially dogs), dolls, books, the doll stroller and grocery cart. She currently has no real attachment to anything- she likes to sleep with something but if we don't have a particular thing she doesn't freak out. 

tidbits- loves wearing shoes (but NOT the ones I want her to wear), picking out clothes (and micromanaging her sisters' clothes too), loves Elmo, has been fighting battles with mom such as where she gets to eat a meal (trying to refuse the high chair, but I'm winning that battle) Sofia can hang holding onto a bar the longest- I discovered this at the jungle gym at ECFE (of course I'd like her to weigh more and not be so great at it!!!)

Sofia on her birthday

Sofia

Madeline
favorite food- cottage cheese, sweets (like the rare occasion I give cookies, etc), lasagna
favorite toy- still has to have her blankie ("kinki"), anything to climb on, books, dolls, the doll stroller and grocery cart.
tidbits- she loves fighting battles too (where to sit and when she doesn't want to get clothes on).... she is acquiring the love of shoes also, has some extreme oppositions such as hitting and pulling her own hair. Still the biggest daddy's girl and recently was soothed at bedtime when Dan was out of town by me telling her "Daddy says goodnight, I love you".

Madeline on her actual birthday.

Oh, sweet Madeline.

Madline

Josie
favorite food- mac and cheese, vegetables, all fruit...basically the least picky but who knows if that will change (AND she doesn't battle over where to sit since it freaks her out to sit on the stool- but we had a recent battle of removing her cat).
favorite toy- blankie ("kinki"), her cat stuffed animal, other stuffed animals, puzzles, the new fridge farm toy, books, stroller and grocery cart.
tidbits- Making the quickest strides verbally and possibly cognitively (she usually has the best patience so that helps). We're worried she's going to start getting deformed because she constantly has her cat tucked in her arm- she's always trying to do things with mostly one arm (we're not actually worried!)

Josie on her birthday

I'm happy because I have my cat :)

Josie playing peek-a-boo!

Here are some more random pictures. Sofia and Josie had a long hugging session today that I have to include. I also have to add a couple videos I sent to Dan JUST in case he's missing them a little bit. ;)

Sofia and Josie. Sister hugs melt my heart!

Josie can still hug holding her cat!

Sister hugs inevitably lead to sister wrestling. (I like how Josie is still happy with her two sisters on her!)

Last week at the Macy's display with grandma. Fun times!

OK, sure, but can you do pull-ups?

Dan has been gone for work this whole week, but amazingly it has gone by pretty quickly. It helped that I got to go to the play "Cinderella" on Tuesday night with a bunch of the ladies in Dan's family. Thanks, Pete, Steve, and Dave for babysitting! I know it was the first diaper change for a couple of you!!! Lara and I were impressed with a job well done.
This weekend is the last weekend before Christmas- crazy! One fun thing planned is the family Christmas party at a nature center close by where they can meet Santa. After all the holidays, we get to anticipate the NICU followup evaluation. We better study up, girls! Have a nice weekend, everyone.

Closing in on December!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We are a little more than a week away from the girls' second birthday!! We're going to have a small party with cake- nothing big. I hear there may be an Elmo theme...

Thanksgiving for us was in Duluth with both of our families. My family had the early one and Dan's the late one. (YES, we ate two dinners in one day, only about 4 hours apart!) Oh, and I earned at least one of my meals because I ran the Gobble Gallop 5k! I didn't run as fast as I was hoping but I improved from my last 5k this past summer. While the girls and I were in Duluth (and Dan was working) we did all kinds of fun things...play time with cousins Dane and Peter, the aquarium, open gym, and the Duluth Children's Museum. Fun times.

I'll give little updates on all the girls...

Sofia has been showing her toddler side a little more lately with lots of defiance. I don't know why but lately she screams bloody murder during baths (physically hurt? or mental?- no idea) and hasn't been eating as well. I just weighed the girls yesterday with the home scale and she was 19 lbs 10.5 oz. Most one year olds are 20 lbs so we still have a peanut. We continue to push high-cal foods but apparently we need to try harder. What will be important will be what the doc says about her weight gain since the 18 mo apt. They don't go in until the 20th so we'll see then.

Sofia looking adorable (photo by Andy Langager, my brother)

Sofia (photo by Andy Langager)

Madeline is in a DADDY DADDY spurt. When Dan joined us in the Duluth for Thanksgiving, that's when Madeline realized she needed him! Sometimes she screams when he gives her to me!! Hurts my feelings! ;) During the day when he's gone, I'm an adequate substitute, luckily. Madeline's weight yesterday was 22 lbs 9.5 oz. Her 18 month sized pants are getting a little snug on her! I think she inherited my eating gene. Madeline and all of her sisters are talking so much more now. She was the first to ask for water (she just says "wateee wateee"). They will identify things in books and out in the world. One example lately was all three shouting out "cow! cow!" when we passed the milk section since Kemps milk has a cow on the carton. I am so excited for this talking development.

LOVE this picture of Madeline (photo by Andy Langager)

Madeline (photo by Andy Langager)

 Josephine now weighs 21 lbs 12 oz. Josie has been doing well. She has been the best sleeper lately (Sofia has been getting up a lot lately and Madeline only waking from Sofia.) Josie is also doing really well with eating- still loving her veggies! She recently grew attached to a little Beanie Baby cat from her grandparent's (Klopp) house. It's a little problematic during meal times when she'll throw a fit if I take it away... hmm. She also likes to throw fits when I try to get her dressed. All three girls think they have more say than they really do. I say "Time to take a nap!"Josie nonchalantly shakes her head and says "No... no." (Not even a fit, just saying it matter-of-factly). Oh really??

Favorite of Josephine (photo by Andy Langager)

Josie as happy as can be (photo by Andy Langager)

Here are some more random pics, and some from Thanksgiving. I need to get a pic of the Klopp Thanksgiving still, so hopefully I can put that one up later.

Thanksgiving group pic. Just missing brothers Jon and Ben. (photo by Andy Langager)

Through the window (J, M, S)

Aimee, Sofia, me, and Madeline all on a train at the Depot/Children's Museum

Well, I hope everyone's having a great week. Here comes the busiest time of the year in the Klopp household (I'm sure the busiest for most of you!) We're ready, December!!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Klopps! 

I'm thankful for my healthy girls and my wonderful husband. How about you?

Halloween Fun/Update!

I hope everyone had a fun Halloween! It was the girls' first time trick-or-treating this year- we just went to 10 or so houses in our neighborhood. It is really funny to think of the whole idea of trick-or-treating through the eyes of a young toddler. They had to be thinking "Really, what are we doing, Mom??" We brought them along in a Choo-choo and then let them walk to the door at each house. They were all distracted during their short walk to the door, looking at garden statues, rocks, and pumpkins. Once they got up to the door they would all yell "hello!" At one house, Josie tried to walk in the house. It was all pretty amusing!  By the last couple houses they were getting tired. Mission completed!

Sofia, Josie, and Madeline with their pumpkins from the pumpkin patch.

Madeline!

Sofia acting silly.

The Sunday before Halloween we had fun carving pumpkins. The girls sat in their high chairs watching and playing with the slimy seeds. At first they didn't touch the goop but then they had fun playing with it.

Dan working on his Jack-o-lanterns

Josie being typical Josie- she's putting the seeds in the cup holders. Organizer!

Here are some costume pics!

Josie, Madeline and Sofia

Thing 1, 2, and 3. (Sofia, Madeline, and Josephine)

 Josie having fun on the front porch!

Madeline held the candy basket and Sofia's ringing the doorbell.  Look at the dog!

Their transportation.

If you have a couple minutes, here's a video demonstrating pre-bedtime madness. They are get this hyper most nights!


Have a good rest of the week, everyone! One last pic.

Sofia walking Oreo (Dan's aunt and uncle's dog). She didn't want to stop!

Quick Update

We've had a great week! They haven't been sick in awhile now (knock on wood!) There was no ECFE this week because all the teachers in MN have a conference (or something) so we headed to library story time instead. The girls had fun and did a little better sitting still for most of the stories and songs.


A couple cute new tidbits:
*Josie LOVES puzzles! She will sit and do one of our many puzzles and is very patient in getting it right. The other two would try for a second- if that- and move on. Just a little too busy!

Josie looking serious

*All three, but Sofia in particular are having fun with new words. Sofia has a little bit too much fun with the word "no". At times it's helpful though- like if I ask if they want peanut butter for lunch I'd rather Sofia tell me "no" than have her not eat the lunch!

Sofia

 *The girls love to spin and get dizzy and dance to music. Watching them try to walk after spinning is hilarious. Why would you want to keep spinning after that!?

Madeline looking in the distance

Love this pic! They are chasing after Odin.

You want us to stand here and smile? Are you kidding me?

Have a great weekend everyone!

22 Months!

 The girls are acting a lot older lately! They will copy words a lot more. They also point and say "dog", "duck/quack", etc; not enough to communicate when they really need to tell me something, though. Tantrums are still the main form of communication...oh, and "uh-uh-uh" while looking in my eyes willingly. I usually know what they want but they should TELL me!

ECFE (Early Child/Family Education) is going well! We've only had two classes and we haven't separated yet. The girls seemed more comfortable the second class so I hope it only gets better and better. The girls had an "art" project the last class which was the teacher painting their feet to get footprints on paper. All three cried during it- "Mommy, WHAT is happening to my feet?!" The class is every Wednesday- something to look forward to! 

A couple days ago, Madeline weighed in at 21 lbs, 5 1/2 oz. I am eating my words when I said Madeline has been the easiest. Lately, she is pretty needy and is definitely a mama's girl at the moment. All of the girls have gone through cold after cold, and Madeline always gets hit a lot harder. I attribute some of her moodiness/neediness to that. She also has a hot temper lately. She will bite objects or pull her own hair when she's worked up. When she's sweet, she's really sweet though. When she practices saying all of our names and comes to mommy, she'll say it so nicely and look at me with those big blue eyes. I just melt!

Madeline

Peek-a-boo, Madeline!

Josie is great and weighs in at 20 lbs, 13 1/2 oz. She's catching up to Madeline! (She has been the best eater in the last week or two.) She can still get worked up with her tantrums but nothing worse than before. A cute, really new thing they've been doing is during story time. We read "Goodnight Moon" almost every night, and when Dan reads it he always asks "Where'd the mouse go? Where did it go?" (the mouse is in a different spot on all the room pages). Now, the girls say that on almost every page. Josie gets the most into it and uses her hands while asking. It is so cute! Dan and I love to take the girls on walks in the woods by our house and Josie is the most gung-ho. She is usually in front and can walk the longest without needing to be carried. She may be the cross country runner! (And all this time I thought that with her lungs being the weakest in the NICU that she may not.)

Josie looking extra pretty.

Josie getting ready to go down the slide

Sofia is doing well and weighs 19 lbs, 4 1/2 oz! I am pleased with her weight gain- the difference between her and her sisters is decreasing. With talking, she accentuates probably the best of all the sisters. You can really understand "where did it go?" Crazy! All of the girls love Elmo right now. All moms know you need a little help during certain times of the day (maybe not the supermoms, I don't know), especially getting dinner ready. I just put Sesame Street "On Demand" and they just light up! Sofia looks at me and giggles when she knows it's coming on.

Sofia is SO FAST the picture came out blurry! (Having fun at the park)

Sofia loves dolls lately!

Here is this past Sunday during a walk in the woods by our house. I love these woods and we are so lucky to have it close by. Yes, I am wearing a TANK TOP in October. I'm ready for real fall weather, Minnesota!

Daddy and Josie (in white) and Madeline.

Mommy and Sofia

Josie in the woods!

Sofia looks like she's strutting, not hiking. Ha!

What do you see, Madeline?

Here are a couple more random play/park/woods pics. Hope you don't mind!

OK, no more pics! You said we were going to the park!

We want to ride the horse! (Maddie in green, Sofia in blue)

They look so LITTLE on the path!

Group pics- a thing of the past.

Thanks for reading (if you made it this far)! Have a great week!