The Yearly Post

Well, it's been over a year since I've posted, which means no one is reading this anymore!  I guess that means I can write whatever I want.  I really need to change the title of this blog, especially because it's not only "We 5," but "We 5 + tax!"  We are expecting a baby girl in October and can hardly wait to meet her!  Natalie is almost done with Kindergarten.  She's learning to play the piano and is really enjoying her dance class.  Peter is all signed up for preschool next year and is a constant delight.  He's really excited to learn to read and to ride a bike and is sure that turning four will be the best thing that ever happens to him.  Erik is learning sign language with me and is becoming quite the character.  He's taking his cues from Peter and they are destined to be a very silly force to be reckoned with.  Nate is working long hours and enjoys watching the waves, boats, and birds from the back deck and riding his bike around the island.  Life is wonderful in the Cardon house.  We've been extremely blessed and are very happy and grateful to live in the Great Northwest so close to family!

Erik is 1 year old!

Happy Birthday, little Erik!

It's been an eventful year, to be sure.  We've moved to WA and are really enjoying the ocean and the wet Northwest.  We've seen salamanders, crabs, slugs and porpoises and have ridden the Ferry and enjoyed watching and listening to The Mountain.  Life is so great.  Nate's enjoying his work and is looking forward to a summer full of family and barbecue.  He is the 12/13 yr old priesthood/scout advisor and enjoys all the skiing and camping and swimming and such.  I am busy making friends and keeping house.  I am learning Yoga and have signed up to run a 5K in July!  I love teaching the 12/13 yr old sunday school class though I am repenting for ever having been a teenager.  Natalie is ready for Kindergarten this fall!  She really enjoys reading and is excited to start ballet classes and get her ears pierced.  She has eye surgery scheduled for June to correct her strabismus.  She's looking forward to the popsicles she's been promised for her recovery!  Peter and Natalie are learning ASL (sign language) with me.  Peter is excited to start preschool this year and knows most of his letter sounds already!  He's completely potty trained now and an expert on his ballance bike. He has decided his favorite colors are blue and yellow.  He's thrilled that his eyes are his favorite color and mine are my favorite color.  We talk about it daily.  Erik is an amazing crawler and knows what a bear and a chicken say.  He loves to play "Hat, Boom!" and "Peek-a-boo." 

Erik got an apple pie for his birthday since he's allergic to dairy.  He loved it!  He really enjoyed the toys he got and was very insistant that his brother and sister not touch them until he was in bed.  His top two teeth are just coming through and he's enjoying the new sensastion of biting cheerios.  He's a happy, healthy baby boy and I am so in love with him that I'm not sure I can remember life before he came to our family.  We have much to be grateful for. 

Erik is finally here!!

After much too long of a wait (according to his mom) and 3.5 especially long hours, Erik Royal Cardon has officially arrived! Born May 2nd, 2011, at 9:24 pm, weighing 8 lbs 2.3 ounces and measuring 19 inches long. We'll have to do something about the Title Banner on this blog now...

Erik is a wonderful baby. He has his days and nights a bit mixed up, but that is very understandable and not that unexpected. Nate gets 15 days of paternity leave, much to Kaijsa's relief and delight. He has been Super dad - making meals, cleaning, taking care of the older kids, and staying up with Erik when Kaijsa needs a break. Natalie is a wonderful big sister, giving lots of hugs and kisses and being very helpful to her mama. Peter is in baby heaven - he begs to hold him and is always coming up to Erik to "give him loves," where he puts his little cheeck against Erik's head. The Cardon household is doing very well and everyone is enjoying getting to know our new little boy and adjusting to a new routine. We count ourselves very blessed and can't wait for everyone to meet little Erik!

Easter - Still waiting for Baby...

We had a wonderful easter which we spent with just our little family. We tried very hard to get some good family pictures. This is the best we could do and still get to church on time! Here I am 38 weeks pregnant and wanting very badly to have a baby!

Rock on, Natalie... Rock on...

Did I mention?

Oh, and for any who don't know, yet... We're expecting again! We have an ultrasound next week, so I'll be posting again soon about that. We are due May 10th, but will be delivering in April. Just sayin'...

Quick kid updates:
Natalie is sure it's a girl and prays for her baby sister to be healthy every night. I keep saying it might be a boy, to which she replies: "I don't like boys."

Peter has learned a TON of animal sounds! Here's the current list, as far as I can remember:
cat, dog, bird, monkey, elephant, horse, cow, sheep, duck, mouse, chicken, snake, fish, starfish, tiger, lion, bear, penguin, alligator, skunk, zebra, and bumble bee. I'll come back and add more as I remember them...

I wake up every morning to him shouting "MOMMEEEEEEEEEE!" and he begs for me to open the curtains so he can watch for "Daga" (dogs). His blankey is his "Gaga" and "Ga" can be a "guy" (or toy figurine), that he dropped something and wants me to get it, or "again." He asks for "schee" (cheese) and "Wawa" (any drink) constantly and is gaining weight very nicely now that he's on cows milk. His peanut allergy doesn't seem to be too big of a lifestyle change for anyone except Natalie who won't eat pancakes anymore since we don't have peanut butter for them. Otherwise, life is great!

Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving plans drastically altered at the last minute, it was up to me to put on the feast! With Nate caring for kids and cleaning, I cooked and cooked for two days and everything turned out great! We invited some of Nate's colleagues for dinner and we all had a great time. My only regret: I forgot to take pictures of my four beautiful... nay, GORGEOUS!... pies!! I made two pumpkin, an apple/berry and a peach pie. Nate made almond roca and it was the biggest hit! Everyone chose the roca over the Costco-purchased high-end chocolates and truffles we had bought. Go, us!

Cute Kids in Cute clothes

I love to take Sunday shots of the kids. I usually dress Peter right before we leave, so it's hard to get his picture before church. After church can be disastrous (hence the crumbs on his tie...). I'll try to do better. His outfits are too cute to miss! I mean, check out those shoes...!

Catching up: Halloween

Two little red crayons. They both really enjoyed their costumes, and Peter even kept his hat on! We had fun at the church trunk-or-treat and the playgroup Halloween party. Natalie said her favorite part was the candy. I don't blame her, but I think my favorite part was when she came up to me and started rubbing her head on me. "I'm coloring you, mom!"

Catching up: Mormor and Morfar

Mormor and Morfar came to visit! We had a great couple of days enjoying their company. Can't wait to see them again. Seriously. I can't wait. How about we fly down this weekend? Please??

Catching up: Preschool

Natalie's first day of preschool... We are in a "joyschool" type preschool, where six of us moms take turns teaching each month. She loves it, and I love living vicariously through her! How fun to play with friends, color, eat, and learn cool stuff! She came home last week so excited to tell me that flour is made of wheat! Who knew??

Catching up: Camping with Fam at Great Basin NP

See? I'm getting better! My kids are dirty! :)

Talking up a storm!

Peter is now a talking baby! His official first word is "Dada," since he repeats it and definitely uses it to his advantage. Yesterday, we were sitting at the window and saw Daddy arrive home from work. He walked across the street to talk with a neighbor. When Peter saw him, he started saying "Da! Da! Da!" and banging on the window. He really, really loves his Daddy and gets so excited when he comes home. He is now using other words regularly, too, like "cracker" ("kaka"), "ball" ("ba"), "hi" ("ha"), "water" ("wa") and "num-num" ("num-num-mum") for food. It's really fun being able to communicate with him in these little ways. Feeding him is all the more fun when he can ask for it and indicate when he wants a drink or a cracker. It's so cute to watch him hold a phone to his ear (well, the back of his head, really) and say hi! We're still working on Mama, but Natalie totally had that covered when she was a baby, so I'm ok with Peter being a daddy's boy for a while. When he gets a bonk or feels hungry or tired, there's no doubt in anyone's mind that he loves and wants his mama -- No words required!