Katching Up With Kambry

Life with 3 kids has been GREAT! I must say I thought it was way harder going from 1-2 then from 2-3 kids! I think because when you have 1 all your time revolves around that 1 person and 0ne person only then when you have a second you're learning how to juggle 2 kids AND get other household chores done at the same time. I remember nursing Karter and Keaton would just be standing there bored to death waiting for me to finish so I could play with him. I'd finish and put Karter down so I could entertain him. Now if I'm nursing Kambry, the older 2 play together so I feel like I get a lot more baby time with her! Also I think once you learn how to juggle it's easy to add one more into the mix! We're still debating number 4...I think it will happen but we'll see!! =)

Here are some pictures of the 3 kids together...trying to bring you up to date a little bit!

Bringing Kambry home from the hospital.
Watching cartoons in mommy and daddy's bed!

Kisses for Kambry!

Movie Time!!

In our Aggie gear ready to tailgate!!

Picnic time!!

Look at those baby blues!!!

Big Bro, Big Sis, Lil Sis!!

Pumpkin Patch!

Keaton was Woody, Karter was Jessie and Kambry was Bullseye the horse! (Roni does that look familiar? I'll give it to you next time I see you! =) )

Daddy of 3!

My little turkies!!

I made these shirts with my SIL for the kids, so cute!!

Our Little Pumpkin!!

Feeling very blessed!!

Big Girl Karter

Out of all my pregnancies I have BY FAR experienced the nesting phase the most this time around!! Kyle will agree on this! Instead of nesting it's actually more of super anal psycho cleaning bitch. I have cried over my to do list and that things will never get done a few times! Then the next day I get it done and I'm the happiest person you've ever met! I have cleaned out almost every cabinet and drawer in the house, my closet and all my drawers in our master bath, the kids bathroom cabinets and linen closet, Keaton's whole room-clothes and toys, then we cleaned out one room that was the study and made that Karter's room so I moved all her stuff from her room into her new big girl room and made her old nursery Kambry's room! So I got down all the newborn stuff and washed everything and now the entire house feels organized and ready for baby! It's crazy how motivated you are and you simply can't rest until it's all done!

So back to Karter's big girl room...this was so much fun! We've lived in this house now for 2 years and have never really "made it home" or added our own touch to it because we don't own it and figured we'd be here a few months. That few months has turned into a much longer amount of time and even though it's temporary we need to feel at home! So we got permission to paint and it looks amazing! More pics of the house to come but right now we'll focus on Karter! I wanted her room bright pink and that it is!! We bought new furniture for her and my super talented friend, JoDee, made her bedding! That's right, she MADE it!! I picked out all the fabric and then she went to town making my vision a reality!! THANK YOU SO MUCH JODEE!!! It turned out awesome!! I can't show you everything yet because we're still waiting on a desk and shelves to finish it off but here are some sneak peeks!

I was so excited when I found ribbon that matched her bedding so I made this bow holder for her bows! =)

Sneak peek of what the bedding looks like! It's soooo darn cute!!

I bought this decal on Etsy and love it! This is right above her bed and she'll look up at it and say, "Mommy did" and point to it! =)

So once the room was pretty much finished we decided to TRY to let her sleep in her new bed and see how she does! I just knew this would be a big disaster and she'd be back in her crib in no time. I thought she'd get out of bed a zillion times, naps would be over, etc! Keaton was 2.5 when we switched him so I just knew 22 months would be too young. Apparently my optimistic attitude wasn't shining through on this topic! So last Sunday night we decided to try! She cried and cried for a while and Kyle decided to lay with her. I did NOT want that to become a habit but we thought maybe once she woke up alone she'd realize she did it and it wasn't so bad. So sure enough she woke up happy as a lark and when I put her down for a nap that day I just shut the door and expected to see her walking out shortly after but didn't...she went straight to sleep!! Every night and naptime all week since has been a breeze!! I am truly blown away!!! That was the easiest transition ever and she LOVES her new room!! Now the crib is raised back up and ready for baby Kambry to arrive!!

Loves reading and snuggling with her Daddy!!

Sound Asleep!!! =)

Almost 36 Weeks!

So I have been a HORRIBLE blogger!

My pregnancy is almost OVER...CRAY-Z!!!!!

I'm feeling great! This has been another easy pregnancy! I'm not miserable where I just want her out right now like some people get...but I am super super excited to meet her and just hold her and have someone around the house that small again! =)

Keaton is really excited for her and I know he'll do great! Karter just LOVES babies so I have a feeling she's going to be all over her! It will be cute but hopefully she wont also be jealous and want mommy to hold her all the time instead! That can be really hard/annoying when you're trying to nurse an upset baby! We'll all get used to her though, Im just so freaking excited! =)

The ridiculous swelling in my legs and feet hasn't started yet but no doubt it's right around the corner! I do have major heartburn every evening but besides that things are pretty normal! I love feeling her move all around in my belly, it's so amazing!! Keaton loves feeling her move too and he'll sit and watch TV with me with his hands on my belly...so sweet! If you ask Karter where Kambry or Sissy is she'll lift up my shirt and say, " belly!" Even if I'm wearing a dress she tries to lift it up to see the belly, for some reason pointing to it from the outside apparently just isn't good enough for her! =)

Right now we're in the process of decorating Karter a new "big girl" room and moving Kambry's newborn stuff right into Karter's old nursery. I figured we already have a girl baby room ready so why get anything new?? Karter's room is coming along and is going to look so cute! Pictures will for sure be posted once it's done! My uber talented friend JoDee is making her bedding and it looks AMAZING!!! She is so good at sewing and it is something that will be so special and Karter can use from childhood into her teenage years! Yes Karter, this furniture and bedding is yours until you're married...ENJOY! =)

I'm still nervous about removing Karter from her crib...I fear that naps will be finished after that but we'll see! Maybe the transition will be great, I'd just prefer to wait until she were 2.5 or so but 22 months will have to do! I'll let you know how it goes, wish us luck!!

Spring Break 2011

What a fun and busy week! Honestly we didn't do anything HUGE...no big trips, no awesome new locations that we checked out, just lots of time together and go go go!! =) We went to a park almost everyday, had multiple playdates at friends houses, lots of birthday parties (Keaton's included, that post next!), and 3 slumber parties, it was just a great week with the kids!

Karter modeling her bow...hamming it up for the camera! =)

Storytime with Daddy!

My 3 LOVES!!

Picnic in the backyard!

They love eachother so much!!

Burger King fun!

They love to hold hands and of course I LOVE it too!!

I love watching them interact together, they're going to be so close! Can't wait to see what #3 does to the mix! =) Updates on that coming soon too!! I have some catching up to do!! =)

Christmas Day

Christmas morning was fantastic! It's so much fun now that Keaton is older and knows the true meaning of Christmas and can talk/sing songs about it! That also makes Santa much more fun because he gets so excited and it's honestly pure joy to watch!!

SANTA CAME!!!!!

The kids waiting in our room before they ran out to see what Santa brought!!

Keaton is such a great big brother! So sweet to Sister!! =)

Everyday is Halloween at our house and Santa brought Keaton a chest of costumes and he went from one to the other all day!! =)
First was Iron Man.

Then Wolverine and more to follow that! =)

Karter was saying, "MMMMM!" and eating Santa's leftover crumbs!

Santa left a playhouse outside and they LOVED it!!! The doorbell was a big hit!

After our Christmas morning at the house we went to my parents for another day of presents, family, and yummy food!! The kids got so much stuff from everybody and we made such great memories! Next Christmas we'll have 3 little ones, AHHHHH!!! I LOVE IT!! =)

With my parents and the onsies they opened on Christmas Eve! We forgot to take this picture Christmas Eve so one day late is better than not at all! =)

Christmas Eve's

Christmas Eve Eve:

Kyle's cousins and everyone came over to our house to kick off Christmas. Every year we do a gift exchange where you draw a number and whoever gets 1 picks a gift from the pile first and so on down the line...stealing is involved, you know the rules I'm sure! So Kyle and I decided to type up a little ditty about being pregnant and they had to guess who it was. Bryce (Kyle's brother) picked our gift and read it out loud. Everyone guessed me pretty quickly and was super excited! Here's the video:

Telling Kyle's Family from Kristin Kotzebue on Vimeo.

After we told his family, they had to keep their mouths shut because my family was still in the dark! =) That video's below!

All the Rieger grandkids!

Proud parents and grandparents after we shared our news!

Like father, like son! My boys were pooped after everyone left!

Christmas Eve:

That morning we went to Kyle's parents house to have that side of the family's tree. The kids were of course super spoiled and loved everything they got! They are so lucky to have the grandparents and aunts and uncles they have!! Kyle and I got some amazing gifts too! It was a wonderful morning!

My excited little reindeer!

Karter loves her new baby from Uncle Brad and Aunt Amanda!!

Feeding her baby! She'll be such a good big sis!

Keaton in his new Star Wars helmet from Uncle Bryce!!

Seriously everyday is Halloween at my house! =)

Karter got new rainboots!

After a delicious lunch we headed to our church for Christmas Eve service. We met my parents and sisters there and then came to our house afterward.

Once we got to our house I couldn't wait to tell my family our news! I didn't want it to seem obvious so I poured myself some eggnog as a disguise! Of course I didn't drink any of it though,I just poured it down the drain in the bathroom or gave it to Kyle to chug, haha! Keaton had made Kyle and I a pillow at school for Christmas so I showed it to everyone and told my parents he had a little gift for them too! So I suggested we sit down so they could open it and then we could let the kids go ahead and open their Christmas Eve gift (which is always PJ's!). I had bought newborn onsies, one said Little Brother and the other said Little Sister and I had each of my parents open it up! Priceless! Here's the video:

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Wasn't that fantastic! I apparently did a really good job of pretending to drink Eggnog because my mom wasn't pleased with me about that in the video, haha!! Right after that I sat down with Keaton and talked to him about it and he is so excited! We hadn't told him yet because I knew he would spill the beans! Both of our ideas turned out perfect and everyone was just so excited! This little baby is such a lucky kid, to come into a family where they're already so loved! I feel so blessed!!

The kids had a blast and we made Santa cookies...then off to bed so Santa could come! =)

Cousins!

Making cookies!

My parents always took a picture of us pretending to be asleep on Christmas Eve so here is Mr. Keaton...ready and waiting to fall asleep so Santa will come! =)