Author: Darin

Well I guess I need to teach Kryssi a little bit more so she can upload some pictures.  But here are a couple recent ones of the kids.

McKinley is getting bigger and bigger every day.  Kryssi mentioned how she now rolls from her back to her stomach, and tonight she rolled back over the other way!  She seems to grow and change every day.  In this picture she is wearing one of the bibs Kryssi just made.

Work for me is going really good.  I was hired in the marketing department for a company called Computer Lab Solutions.  Well probably a week after starting, they decided they were breaking off into their own company, Star Moose Creative (I had no involvement with the name).  So as far as looks go, nothing changed.  This just allows us to go and get other clients, so it means there will be a lot of potential for growth and success.  So I’m pretty excited I was able to get the opportunity right at the start, and hopefully I can stay there as it grows.  I’m currently building the site for the new company, so check it out at www.starmoose.com and let me know what you think, especially if something doesn’t work right, as I’m currently looking for any bugs.

But Kryssi has been getting very crafty lately, which if you know her at all, it is pretty unusual.  She started making some bows with one of her friends months ago, and she has gotten back into that, with plans for selling these online, probably just on Etsy to start.  But she has also made some bibs, burp rags, and car seat covers, so she is getting really good at making crafts.  Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of time to get her set up online, but as soon as I do, I’ll post a link here so you can check it out!

I’ve been meaning to put some posts up since Christmas and just have not had the time to get it done.  I recently (and recently I mean like a month ago) decided to start looking for a job in web design as this is my last semester and I wanted to have a job by the time I graduated.  Well I didn’t think I would get one so soon, but I submitted my resume to a job around Christmas time and immediately heard back from them for an interview.  Well I ended up getting the job, which was good, but now with that and school, I have no time on my hands.  So I have shown Kryssi how to update the blog, so hopefully she will start putting some posts up.

But we have been doing good.  We had a a really good Christmas.  We are blessed to have such great families and we are grateful to be near them, especially around the holidays.  It was nice to have a break from school, but I have now been back in for 3 weeks.  Like I mentioned, this is my last semester.  I’m done May 6th, and after that I’ll have to decide whether I stay at my current job, or try and find something else.  They’ve already told me they’ll up me to full time hours, increase my pay, and give me benefits once I’m out of school, but we’ll have to see how much of a pay increase it is and whether I look for something else.

McKinley keeps growing and she seems to change by the day.  She had her 4 month check-up today and weighs 12 lbs. and is 24 inches long.  So she has slowed down somewhat on her growth, but is still outdoing Lucas.  She loves to smile and laugh and her new favorite thing is spitting.  She soaks her clothes all the time by spitting, but it is pretty cute.

Lucas is still as crazy as ever.  He amazes me all the time by how smart he is.  He eats a whole lot better then he ever used to, which is good.  He won’t take naps anymore, which I’m sure is a pain for Kryssi.  He loves his little sister and is constantly touching her and giving her kisses.

I’ll let Kryssi update you on anything she wants, but she is doing good as well.  She’s adjusted to being home most of the day without me fine, but I think she’s always glad to see me come home so I can play with Lucas (he never runs out of energy it seems).  We are so blessed as a family and I constantly have to count my blessings for having such wonderful kids and such a wonderful wife.

Lucas got to see Santa Claus at Toys-R-Us.  He wasn’t too sure about him but not very scared.  The next week he saw him at the mall and walked right up to him and sat on his lap, leaving Kryssi and I in the dust!

Smiley girl!

Lucas wanted me to take a picture of him after McKinley got her picture taken.  He always has the corniest smile.

Kryssi was also jealous of the picture taking so I had to take one of her.

Our homemade snowflakes.  I’ve always just folded paper up and made random cuts, which is fun but doesn’t always make the nicest looking flakes.  Well I found this blog post and it has templates you print off and fold, then just cut on the lines.  It was a fun family activity and they look really cool.

Decorating our small Christmas tree.  We love it but will be happy when we have the room to get a full size tree.

Such a cute Santa!

Lucas all dressed up for church.  This is an outfit I wore when I was his age.

We love Christmas time!  Lucas is old enough this year that it will be even more fun, I think.  He is so excited and will every once in a while, just through his hands in the air and yell, “Christmas time! Yeah!”  He loves our Christmas decorations and watching Christmas movies.  We saw Santa at the mall, but he was too scared to go actually see him.  But we then saw him at another store and Lucas actually stood by him and we got some pictures (on my phone though so I haven’t got it off yet).  He is most interested in Santa’s reindeer.  After seeing Santa at the mall, he wanted to know where his reindeer where and he wanted to see them.  He’s also said a few times that what he wants for Christmas are reindeer.

We really have been enjoying the Christmas season and all the decorations and Christmas lights.  I finished the semester on Friday so I’ll have more time now to spend time with family and enjoy the season even more.

I think we have two of the cutest kids in the world!  McKinley just gets cuter and cuter every day.  She smiles a lot more now, especially in the morning when she must be happiest.  She is also starting to get more vocal.  She loves when you talk to her, and she tries so hard to say things back.  She now weighs 10 lbs. 11 oz. so she is close to doubling her birth weight, which is a lot quicker then Lucas did it.  So we are glad she isn’t having weight issues like Lucas.

She also sleeps really good at night.  She likes staying up late, some nights until 1 or 2 in the morning, but usually once she is out, she sleeps great.  She has already had a few nights where she slept 8 hours straight, and most nights she does at least 4 hours in a row.  So again, she is sleeping a lot better then Lucas ever did.

We feel so blessed as a family this year.  We were able to go through the Temple and then be sealed as a family for time and all eternity.  Then we were able to welcome McKinley into our family and she has brought us so much joy.  Plus we still have Lucas, who continues to amaze me every day with how smart he is and he has really helped remind me the joy of seeing the world through a child’s eyes.  We are so happy for all our blessings and can’t wait to see what the next year will bring.

Well it is hard to believe but McKinley is two months old already!  She had her two month appointment today and she wasn’t too happy to get her shots.  She now weighs 10lbs. 7ozs.  So she has been gaining weight pretty good.  Hopefully she keeps it up, because it was after this point that Lucas started to slow down on his weight gain.  So far she has out gained him though.  He weighed more at birth and less at two months then she did.

After getting home from Utah, Lucas got to take a bath.  He thought he was so funny by putting bubbles on his head, until they ran into his eyes.

Well last week was really nice weather, and I mentioned how we went to feed the ducks on Saturday (when it was 60+ degrees) because the weather was supposed to turn.  Well, for once the forecasters got it right.  It snowed all day on Monday, and by the news that night, they said we had anywhere from 3-5″ of snow.  It has snowed some today but not much, and I think we’re supposed to get more later this week.

But we had a nice warm Fall so I guess we can’t complain too much.  Lucas loves the snow and we had a small snowball fight.  It would have been bigger but he didn’t have any gloves and he froze his hands pretty fast.  We were at the mall the other day and they had Christmas decorations up and Christmas music playing and now with the snow, it feels like Christmas is already here!

Well things are going good in the Kotter household, just busy as usual.  McKinley has continued to grow.  Her next doctors appointment isn’t until the end of this month so we decided to weigh her on my postage scale and she was 9 lbs. 1 oz.  So she is gaining weight really well, a lot better than Lucas ever did.  She isn’t the best sleeper at night but it could be a lot worse.  She usually likes to be up late, around 1 or 2 am.  She then sleeps really good the rest of the night.  The last few nights have been better so hopefully it is a sign of things to come.

We were finally able to get Lucas off of his pacifier.  It actually wasn’t that hard once Kryssi and I actually buckled down and stopped being pushovers.  He cried for maybe an hour or so the first day, during nap time, and then about an hour that night, and since then hasn’t needed it.  So now we need to work on potty training.

Lucas still loves McKinley a lot.  He always wants to hold her or lay with her, and he is always giving her kisses.  Too much love for one little girl!

We have to be extra careful whenever she is on the floor, as Lucas is constantly running around, jumping, diving to the ground, basically always in motion.  He has hit her a few times, on accident, and she hasn’t complained much.  I think she is already used to being the little sister.