Me, the Gourmet Chef....Who Knew?

As most parents of four, Jeremy and I don't get many chances to have a date night. So, I decided to start doing a kind of date night at home. Jeremy and I at the dinner table by ourselves, lights low,...... you know the drill. Usually our dinner conversation is a mixture of all the kids talking at once, tattling on who got in trouble that day, what we did during school, and Jeremy and I only get a few words in. I decided to make us a restaurant grade meal, and stick the kids in front of a movie with something simple to eat. Yes, I know this probably breaks some cardinal rule of parenting, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Anyway, last night was our first one, and my meal turned out great! Here are some pictures of my steak with mushroom bourbon sauce minus the bourbon (it turned out more like gravy), my potato roses, and a itallian rice and orzo mixture. Not bad if I say so myself!!

Happy 31st Birthday Jeremy!

Today is Jeremy's 31st birthday! Here's a picture of his John Deere tractor cake that I did for him. It's still not up to my parents' professional standards, but pretty darn good for me! :)

My Sweet Son

John David is always saying the sweetest things to me. He likes to tell me that I'm pretty. What mother wouldn't love that?! He cuddles up next to me, looks me in the eyes, and says, "Momma, you're so pretty," or "Momma, you're hair is so pretty like that." He always says it at the most perfect times too, like when it's noon, I'm still in my jammies, my hair is thrown up in a halfway ponytail, my eyes are black because I didn't remove my makeup the night before....you get my point. It really is the sweetest thing, and I always treasure those moments. Today however, I got an entirely different comment that I had to share. As I stepped out of the shower, there was John David at my bathroom door. Kylie was there also, and made some comment about my belly button before I could get the towel around me. John David then says, "You're not fat, right Mommy?" I didn't want to fib (yes, I am well aware of my chubbiness! :)), so I just said, "Well, John, I appreciate that." Then as he looks me sweetly in the face, he says, "You're just huge, right?" Now, I know that he really didn't understand what he was saying (right?), but I couldn't help but start laughing. What a sweet boy!! :)

Happy Birthday Uncle Drew!

My brother Andrew turns 27 today! He is in Las Vegas on business (yeah right) so here's a big happy birthday to Uncle Drew! We love you!

Poll Results

As you can see, the video of John David cooking won by quite a large margin. Here's an encore presentation of "John David Cooks". Enjoy!

Catchin' Up

So much has happened over the last few days, so I will try and catch you all up to date. First, Kylie's appointment with the dermatologist went very well. The doctor is pretty sure that the mole is not cancerous! Praise God!! She feels that it is one of two things: either a type of birthmark, or a benign mole that because of it's constant growing and changing will need to be removed. They did a biopsy and we should get the results in a week or so. After we get the results they will decide whether to remove the mole or not. Kylie was very brave, and even though I know that the initial injection hurt and she was scared, she did very well. Her back is a bit sore, but should heal within the next two weeks. To say the least, I was very thankful and relieved at the news!

Second, my grandpa is now home from the hospital and doing better. My grandmother is now off the ventilator, but still on oxygen, and her heart is only functioning at 20%. The prognosis is not good, and my grandpa and my parents are having to make some hard decisions. Please pray for peace and comfort for my grandparents and my parents. Everyone is exhausted emotionally and physically. They need lots of prayer.

Thirdly, we were very excited when Luke slept through the night on Monday night. Last night didn't go so well, as he was up several times, but I am still optimistic that consistant sleep is heading my way!! :)

Jeremy's birthday is coming up on Friday, and the kids and I are preparing for his birthday celebration as well as the Fall Festival at church. I think that's all for now. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who blesses us abundantly.

Abigail Robinson Has Arrived!

Yesterday morning at 11:33, Abigail Elizabeth Robinson entered the world via an emergency C-section! We are all so excited to finally have Abby here! Our good friends, Candy and Mark, are glowing with joy. We went up to the hospital to visit last night, and all the kids got their first glimpse of Abigail. Luke was not very interested in the tiny 7 pound 10 ounce bundle of joy, but I'm sure they'll be fast friends. Baby and mommy are doing well, and will be released from the hospital on Friday. Congratulations! We love you guys!

Luke and Abby's first picture


The New Mommy

Update

My grandma is making slow but steady improvement, and the doctors are hoping to wean her off the ventilator soon. In the meantime, my grandfather is now also in the hospital, and the doctors think that he too may have pneumonia. I just keep reminding myself that God is in control. Please keep my grandparents in your prayers. Also, Kylie goes to the dermatologist tomorrow. Please pray that she won't be scared.

Need Prayers

My family called last night, and my Grandma McKay had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance. She has severe pneumonia and is now on a ventilator. Please pray! The doctors say that she is responding, but there has not been much change this morning.

Meet Super Hamster

Since the death of Nibbles, the kids have been wanting a new hamster. For John's birthday, he requested his own hamster. We compromised. We got a new hamster, but it is John David's hamster and stays in his room. He named the hamster "Super Hamster". Super Hamster is obsessed with his wheel, and as you can see from the video, he runs on it constantly. We hear the wheel squeaking all night!

Our Little Chubby Monkey

Pray for Smylie Kylie

Kylie has a mole on her back that has been worrying us for awhile. I mentioned something to the doctor last time she was on a for a physical, but the doctor thought it looked okay. Last night, Jeremy noticed that it was looking pretty nasty, so I took her in to the pediatrician's office today. The doctor took one look at it, and said that Kylie was going to have to see a dermatologist. She called the dermatologist office right then and there, and got Kylie an appointment on Monday afternoon. She said it was the soonest they could get her in, and that they would probably be removing the mole that day. I'm trying not to stress about it or be scared, but that is hard. Kylie is not an "open book" with her emotions, but I can tell that she's a little scared at the thought of having it removed. Please pray that it turns out to be nothing to worry about! Also, I have been down with what I think is the flu since the weekend, fever, chills, body aches, the whole thing. Please pray that I can shake it off soon. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has it all under control!

The Pirate Cake

Here are the pictures I promised from John David's birthday celebration. He had asked for a pirate cake, one with a skull and crossbones on it. As you can see, my skull and crossbones wasn't exactly professional (no laughing please!), and I didn't have any black food coloring, but nonetheless John loved it. I also included a video of John blowing out his candles. I don't think he really knows what it means to make a wish!:)

Knutson's Funniest Home Videos

Finally! Here's the new poll: Which of the following Knutson Home Videos is your favorite? Check out the following videos (which were all previously posted on the blog), and vote! Feel free to comment on this post too. let us know which one you voted for and why!

John Cooks


Caitlyn and the Baton


Kylie and John David Dancing


The Baby Bird


Jousting


Ballerina Kylie

Luke's Two Month Checkup

Our little guy is a chunky monkey!! Last week when I estimated his weight at about 12 1/2 pounds, I was a little off. The chub weighs 13 pounds 12 ounces! No wonder his clothes weren't fitting. The doctor said he looked perfect and now measure 24 inches long. The poor little guy got five shots today, so he's been a little cranky since his appointment. The nurses couldn't get over his hair. It was sticking straight up as usual. :) Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with these.

Visiting With Grandma Thomas

Last Thursday afternoon, and again Friday morning we went to Huntington Heritage to visit my Grandma Thomas. I was anxious for her to meet Luke! She is 86 years old now, and has gotten quite a bit weaker over the last few months, but she was excited to see us, and couldn't get enough of the baby.Caitlyn took her violin and played a few songs for Grandma and her friends. It was so nice to see the smiles on their faces when she finished playing. I can't help but think that every visit may be the last time I get to see Grandma this side of heaven, and that makes it extra hard to leave. I love her so much, and am so thankful that God blessed me with such a great grandma! Here's a few pictures from our visit. We love you Grandma!

Birthdays at Nanny's

On the way back through Indiana, we spent some time with my aunt and uncle, Cheryl (aka Nanny) and Mike. We always love spending time there and the kids love sleeping on the bean bag chair, the same bean bag chair that my brother and sister and I fought over when we were little. :)We arrived on Thursday afternoon, just in time for my cousin's daughter, Marisa's, birthday dinner. She turned twelve! I can't believe it, seeing as how I remember when she was born prematurely and wasn't much bigger than a grown man's hand! Marisa and the kids helped make and decorate the birthday cupcakes. John David made a mess as usual with the sprinkles, and drowned his cupcake in blue toppings! in the midst of all the cupcake making, the baby was getting fussy so Jeremy headed upstairs to see if he could coax Luke to sleep. I went upstairs to check on them later, and discovered them both sacked out (picture below). Jeremy was just as tired as Luke I think! Just the week before our visit, Nanny had fallen and broke her shoulder. She was doing much better when we arrived on our way back through, but still VERY sore. Thank the Lord though that she will not have to have surgery!! We enjoyed playing a few games of "10,000" before we hit the sack. The next morning we were visited by Uncle Joe and Leona, and then we went on to see Grandma Thomas (I'll post pictures of that tomorrow). We left there, and headed to my cousin Jen's house for lunch with her, her husband, and their son Sam. Their son Isaac was at school, but the kids still had a good time playing with Sam, and dressing up as superheroes. Jen and her husband, Jeremy, just recently found out that they are expecting twins! How exciting! Jen has been feeling a bit yucky, but looked great nonetheless. From there we drove to Ohio, where we spent the night at my mom's sister Avis's house. We spent time with Aunt Avis and Doug, and my cousins Laura and Jamie, and Laura's son Brody. We really enjoyed our visit, Learned all about corn bags, got to see Wilbur their 11 year old pot bellied pig, and hope to be back there again next trip. The next morning we headed home, and arrived here around 7:30 Saturday evening. We were gone nine days, and very happy to be home!

Marisa, John, and Kylie


The Cupcakes (John David's is on the top right corner)

Poor Nanny!


Jeremy and Luke taking a nap

Uncle, Joe, Leona, and Luke

Jen and Jeremy - Congratulations!!

John aka "Batman" and Kylie aka "The Thing"

John David Turns Four

Last Saturday on the 11th, our little boy turned four years old! He was so excited! For some reason turning four was major deal to him, and something that he's been counting down to for months. We weren't able to celebrate fully, as we were in the car driving home that day, but we have plans to have a celebration over the weekend. He did get one of his presents already, a Transformer. He has played with it nonstop, although he hasn't figured out how to transform it back and forth from a car to a robot. Sadly, neither have I so Jeremy ends up changing it back and forth for John. For a child's toy, it is very complicated!! I will post pictures from his birthday celebration after this weekend. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty for our growing little man.

Smiles Galore

Luke has been smiling so much these days. He is changing daily it seems, and I wanted to make sure that we caught some it on video and in pictures. He is almost two months old, about 12 1/2 pounds now, has grown into 3-6 month clothes, and is currently in need of the next size up diapers as well. He is making lots of noises, and really starting to be aware of people around him. He recognizes Jeremy's voice well now, and smiles when he hears him. Luke is awake more, and less fussy most of the time. He still will not take a pacifier, but is nursing well so I'm not complaining. Here are some pictures that I took yesterday, and two videos too. The first video captured a brief smile. The second video is longer, but listening to John David trying to make Luke laugh is really funny. Enjoy!

Playing Ball With Mason

I took this quick video of John David playing ball with Uncle Mason. John was getting frustrated and started blaming his misses on Mason! They played ball for quite awhile, and had a good time. Thank you Uncle Mason for taking the time to make your nephew's day!!

Leaping Into Fall

Last Wednesday afternoon, Caitlyn finally got her chance to play in the leaves in Jim and Clair'dawn's front yard. Thanks to some raking on the part of Clair'dawn, Jim, Jeremy, and Uncle Mason, the kids had a blast playing in a big pile of beautiful orange, red, brown, and yellow leaves. I love fall!! Enjoy the pictures, and be sure and check out the video too. Who can resist remembering what it felt like to be a kid and leap into a pile of leaves?! Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty for a beautiful fall.

John David and Johnathen

Caitlyn

Johnathen

Even Cash wants in on the fun!

Christmas Wins

Well, I guess it's not much of a surprise that according to the poll, Christmas seems to be the favorite holiday of most of you. Thanksgiving did come in a close second though. New poll coming soon!

Visiting Family in Wisconsin

We left home on Friday, October 3rd, and made our way towards Markle, IN, for our half-way pit stop. The next morning we headed to Barron, WI. The first half of our trip was spent in Wisconsin. We were blessed enough to stay at Jeremy's cousin's house (Thank you Clair'dawn!), and had a grand time. Johnathen, Jim and Clair'dawn's son, was a gracious host and shared all his toys. Even Cash, the dog, was happy to have us. On Monday, we had a cookout with Jeremy's aunts and cousins, and had some great food. We had such a great time there that we ended up staying an extra day, and didn't leave for Indiana till Thursday. There were many late nights talking, and lots of card games! The kids enjoyed their visit to Grandma Knutson's, chasing her cats, and playing with Aunt Sasha's dog, Nala. Here are a few pictures from the first part of our trip. I will post some more as I get time. Although it was rainy most of the time we were there, the leaves were all different colors and absolutely beautiful! I have some great video of the kids playing in the leaves at Jim and Clair'dawn's that I'll post too.

Jeremy and Grandpa Marv

Jim and Clair'dawn

Jeremy and Cash

The kids and Johnathen



Jeremy and his sister Sasha

John David and Uncle Mason

Grandma Knutson and the kids



Grandma Knutson and Luke

Caitlyn and Coocoo the cat

We're Back!

Just a quick note to let everyone know we are back safe and sound from our trip. I have uploaded all the pictures and video, and will post some tomorrow. Right now I'm busy trying to get unpacked! :)

Heading to Wisconsin

We are leaving in the morning for our Wisconsin/Indiana trip. We will be gone till John David's birthday on the 11th. Pray for our safety on the highway, and that the baby will travel well! :) I am taking the laptop with us, so if I can get internet access I will do some blogging while we're traveling. Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has blessed us with a dependable vehicle to make the trip.

All About the Hair

Caitlyn got a haircut last night. It's the first time we've cut more than the ends off. She is very excited about her "short" hair! The second picture is of John David this morning after he did his own hair. Notice the spikes?! He's so funny!