It's 2012!

Well, I feel like we're almost settled in after getting home this past Sunday... we were in Duluth for over a week. We are putting away Christmas decorations, catching up on laundry, and trying to keep up in general. Duluth was great- Christmas Eve with my family (we missed Andy and Aimee as they had to get back to Iowa, Ben couldn't get time off busy residency, but Jon was home!) We spent Christmas day with Dan's family. The girls got fun new toys- highlights being new dolls, a little people set, movies, books, and trikes (trikes were from Santa!)....and so much more. We probably need to clear out old/baby toys to make room!

New Year's Eve was spent at Dan's family's cabin. The girls did NOT make it to midnight (but their parents made it- barely).  There are a couple of things I'm looking forward to in the next couple of months. Mid-January we bring the girls to the NICU follow-up appointmet to see how they are doing developmentally and physically. I'm not expecting them to be fully caught up quite yet but it's fun to see what they can do. In February, we are taking the girls on the plane to Florida! My parents are renting a condo so we will stay with them. I'm so nervous about the plane part but I don't have to think about it too much yet.

I don't have much to report on- this post is mostly to show-off the latest pictures- but I did want to throw a question out there. Everything I have read says not to be a short order cook, but to me, it's different when we're struggling to make the growth curve. We're on the fine line of turning Sofia (and a lesser extent the other two) pickier than they would because I end up making her other food when she refuses a new meal. Arg! Any ideas for picky eaters? I will try to keep introducing new foods over and over but I need to get calories in her! Plus some of the fattening stand-bys are not working anymore!

Here are some new pictures.

At the winter carnival at the nature center by our house. The girls are looking at the "snow dogs".

Sofia is still not a fan of big animals!

Turkeys and chickens aren't so scary.

The very scary Santa. We were with him 0.2 seconds.

S, J, M in their Christmas dresses! (stuffing their faces with crackers and cheese- yum!)

Josie opening her doll with daddy (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!)

Maddie with Grandpa

Langager family (minus two brothers and a sister-in-law)

Watching the Christmas train with Grandpa

Grandparents with all their grandchildren

Christmas morning discovering the trikes Santa left them (Sofia, Maddie in background)

Cuddling up watching Winnie the Pooh. Peaceful!

Sadly, I didn't get any from the cabin, but I know I will get some from Dan's dad (the designated photographer of the family). Here is a video from our Christmas Eve church service (the church I grew up going to). They attracted quite a little crowd watching them. Lots of pent up energy!

Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years! Here's to great things in 2012!!

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!