The Kirkland's

Charlie's Cousin Daisy

2012-02-13T13:10:00.002-05:00

Katelyn has wanted a mini pig for a long time and when I brought Charlie home she decided to get one too!! She ended up deciding it was best for her to live with my Aunt Lori and Ashlyn since she works a lot and they would be able to spend more time with her. Daisy is a little black piglet and she is ADORABLE. She is 7 weeks older than Charlie (Daisy is 14 weeks now). We got them together last week for a piggie play date and they were so cute. As soon as we opened the door to Daisy's cage Charlie just walked right in. The played with eachother for a few minutes and then they were more interested in sniffing around for food haha. We are going to try and get them together more often so they can become great cousins :)

The Wedding

2012-02-13T13:03:00.003-05:00

Last weekend Kaylee was the flower girl in Farryn and Justins wedding. She did a great job in Katelyns and Bryans wedding last year when it came down to walking down the isle, but she wouldnt have any part of the pictures. Kaylee has been so excited to get to be a flower girl again and assured me she was going to do a good job lol. At the rehersal dinner she cried and would notg participate (Just like at Katelyns) but on wedding day she did great. She was a good sport for pictures before the wedding and did great during the wedding. Before it started all the girls were in their dressing room getting ready and Kaylee told me that I could go ahead and go sit down because she was gonna stay with all the big girls haha. After the wedding she was pretty much done and didnt want to do anymore pictures. Most of the pics of her after the wedding werent so great..she was trying her best to hold back the tears lol. The pictures arent back yet but here are a couple of Kaylee with some of the "princesses" as she called them. The wedding was so beautiful and we were so glad to be a part of the special day :)

Planting

2012-01-23T12:28:00.003-05:00

Well one of my new years resolutions was to do some gardening. I wanted to try a bunch of different veggies and other edible things!! I know you arent supposed to start so early but I couldnt wait so I decided I would go ahead and start a few things inside the house and when it gets closer to spring I will plant more. So about a week and a half ago I planted my sprouted potatoes, jalepeno peppers, cayenne peppers and chili peppers. The peppers wouldnt have been my first choice since we dont really eat them much..but I already had the seeds left over from a kit I bought last year. I was really excited to do the potatoes because we use potatoes a lot. We stayed at my parents house this weekend while John wsa out of town again and when I came home I was thrilled that everything has started sprouting :) I cant wait to get to the store and get some more things to plant. I am thinking next I will try squash, lettuce, tomatoes and maybe carrots!!

Meet Charlie

2012-01-23T12:21:00.003-05:00

Charlie is our new little mini pig. We got her a week ago and we are in LOVE!! Well Kaylee and I are in love..the boys could care less about her!! She is soo cute and is so easy to handle and take care of!! Kaylee calls her a baby pliget and does not want to leave her side!!

SNOW

2012-01-12T10:45:00.002-05:00

Kaylee had it in her mind that it wasn't Christmas unless there was snow lol..during the weeks before Christmas she would look out the window every morning and say "Nope, its not Christmas yet because there is not snow" We planned on taking her somewhere to see fake snow but got too busy and didnt make time for it. So the other day John got a package and Kaylee was of course right there to help him open it. When she saw all those styrofoam peanuts she said "WOW SNOW" her face just lit up and it was too cute. She started getting it and throwing it everywhere. She called Kyle in the living room and they both played and played in it. I knew it was going to be a horrible mess to clean up (and it was), but they had so much fun I couldnt resist letting them play in it :) John wouldnt even look at the floor lol..he said he didnt even want to see the disaster so I took some pictures so he could see it after it was all cleaned lol

Weekend With Mami and Pappy

2012-01-12T10:31:00.003-05:00

John had to go to Tampa for work on New Years weekend so we decided to spend the weekend at my mom and dads house. Kaylee was EXTREMELY excited that we were gonna get to sleep there lol. I made the mistake of telling her about it first thing when she woke up on Friday morning and she asked me ALL DAY LONG if it was time yet haha. We had a few other things to do that day and weren't going to head over until around 5:30 so the wait was torture for her. Once we got home and were getting things ready to go I told her she could pack a bad with a few toys to take while I was packing our clothes..next thing I know she had everything she owned packed up in bags and lined up in the hallway lol. I told her we would have to narrow it down a little then we would be on our way.

Once we got there Friday night Kaylee was ready to go to bed as soon as we got so she could be sure that we were really staying haha. I kept telling her she didnt have to go to bed and that I promised we were really spending the night but she wasnt sure. She felt a little better after we put her pjs on. Pappy got all the supplies to make homemade pizza and Kaylee really enjoyed helping him make them. We made a big pallet on the floor and the kids slept good.

Saturday morning when we woke up the first thing Kaylee said was "I want to sleep here again" Lucky for her Daddy was going to be spending another night in Tampa so we stayed again. Saturday aftrernoon we had to run home and get more clothes and stuff and Kaylee was so upset because she thought we weren't going to go back. Saturday night was New Years eve and we had a little party with family and some friends..the kids LOVE when everyone gets together because they get all kinds of attention. They both made it until midnight then passes out shortly after. Sunday morning they slept in then we headed home to wait for daddy to get back. Kaylee has asked me EVERY SINGLE DAY since then if we can go sleep there again lol. She is looking forward to the next time Daddy goes out of town so we can have another sleepover :)

2012

2012-01-03T12:46:00.003-05:00

Well the time has come again to make our new years resoultions..Ive been thinking the past few days about what mine would be and have come up with a few.

~Lose Weight - I mean come on..isnt that everyones new years resolution??? I was doing so good for a while with my eating good and working out but then with the holidays coming I kind of fell off the bandwagon!! My goal is to get back on track and not only to lose weight but live a healthier lifestyle.

~Be consistant with Kaylee's school - When the school year started in August I decided I would start doing K3 at home with Kaylee. I am intending to homeschool her at least for the younger years (maybe more) so I thought we would go ahead and get a head start getting into a routine and teaching her the basics. I was very good at first about printing school work for her, reading with her every day and trying to include her in projects that I thought would be good for learning. Things got busy and I got out of the routine and now we only do things few and far between. I know it isnt necessary to make sure she does school everyday since she is only 3 1/2 but I want to be more committed to it and really work at getting back into a routine with her.

~Couponing - For a few months I was an avid couponer and it really saved us a lot of money and I had fun doing it. I started doing too many other things and let the couponing go. Now that we have gone through most of the stuff I had stockpiled and are having to buy things again that I was getting for FREE..I decided that I really need to make time and make it a priority this year. I have researched a lot more about different techniques and I think I have found a way to make it work without having to spend so much time on it every day!!

~Chores - I made Kaylee a chore chart a while ago and she loved doing her chores every day (with the exception of cleaning her room) Her chore chart only had a few simple tasks on it and it only took her a few minuted to get it done. She has to get dressed, brush teeth, comb hair, make bed, get all laundry from the bathroom floor, make sure the pillows were on the couch neatly and make sure her room was picked up. I think now that she is a little older I can add a few more things and I plan on being more strict with making sure she gets them done and in a timely manner.

~Gardening - I am really into the idea of being more "self sufficient" and I really want to start a garden with veggies and other things that my family can eat. When we lived at Johns grandparents house we loved having a pear tree, grape vine and lemon trees so much when we moved last year we got a peach tree, raspberry bush and blueberry bush for our house. I am hoping that they all produce well this year and I want to add a few more things as well!!

~ Pinterest - This is kind of a funny New Years resolution but I just had to add it to the list lol. I have a ton of things I have on my "pinterest to do list" I am always seeing these great ideas and I have all intentions of trying them out but usually instead of crossing projects off my list I am adding more. I really want to start a list of "Pinterest Projects" and start getting some things crossed off lol

~Cooking - Last but not least, this year I want to get better with my cooking. It wont take much to improve since I am pretty terrible at it lol. I dont cook much at all..usually John cooks or we eat something thats easy for me to throw together like sasuage and rice or some kind of boxed dinner lol. I have seen a ton of ideas for different recipies that look fairly easy on pinterest so I am hoping to really improve this year :)

I think that about sums it up, all of these are things that I think would really benefit me and my family so I am really going to work hard at keeping up with them :) Good luck to everyone with all their resolutions and Happy New Year!!

A Boy and His Cars!!

2011-12-28T17:02:00.002-05:00

To say that Kyle is obsessed with Cars would be a huge understatement lol!! He loves everything cars..he can spot cars from a mile away in a store and you wont usually see him without a few in his hands. Johns grandma started collecting hot wheels for him months ago and everyone else has also started giving them to him for every occasion. Back before his birthday Mammie got him a big box to hold all his hot wheels and decided we would try to get it filled up and give it to him for Christmas (it holds 100 hot wheels). So we filled it up and the look on his face when he opened it was PRICELESS!! He loves to sit in the floor and play with all his cars. I dont let him have full access to them whenever he wants (because I dont want 100 little hot wheels all over the house) So he enjoys when I let him dump them all out and we get in the floor and play with him!!

Four Wheelers

2011-12-27T19:21:00.004-05:00

Johns dad got the kids 4-wheelers for Christmas. They both love riding on his mini-bikes and go-carts so he thought they would really enjoy having something of their own that they could ride. He was right..they love them :) He decided to give them to them on Christmas Eve day so they would have time to enjoy them some before all the business of Christmas. He covered them with a blanket since they were really big to be wrapped and the kids went out to the garage and pulled the blanket off..it was so cute. Kaylee just started smiling and hopped on but Kyle couldnt believe his eyes..he kept saying "oooh, wooow". Kaylee was really good at driving hers and it wasnt long before she decided that she only likes riding on the fastest speed (which I have to walk/jog to keep up with). It took Kyle a few minutes to figure out how to push the pedal and make it go, but once he learned he really enjoyed it!! He doesnt have the steering part down yet but Im sure he will have it figured out in no time :) These were definetly a big hit...Kaylee constantly asks me when she can go out and ride her "big fast bike" lol

Christmas

2011-12-27T15:00:00.003-05:00

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. It was so much fun this year because the kids actually understood it all and were so excited!! I am both sad and happy its over. I feel like it went by so fast and now we have to wait another whole year until we get to do it again :) But I am glad to get all the decorations down and get my house back to normal!! We started our Christmas festivities on Christmas eve with Johns parents and grandparents!! Kaylee was thrilled when she woke up Christmas eve day and we told her that she would be able to open presents that night. The only hard part was keeping her entertained until late afternoon :) Rene' cooked a wonderful dinner and we all exchanged gifts!! The kids had a blast and were really spolied with gifts!!

On Christmas day we woke up early and the 4 of us did our family celebration!! Kaylee was excited to find that "Santa" came and filled up the stockings and ate all his cookies she left him. Then we got ready and had Christmas breakfast at Johns parents.

At noon we headed to Nanas to celebrate with my side of the family. Growing up we always went to my Nanas on Christmas day and I love that we continue that tradition. She cooked a delicious lunch and the kids got to play and we all exchanged MORE presents.

On Christmas night we went to my cousin Farryns new house to celebrate with my moms side of the family. We had coffee and made smores and it was so nice for us all us cousins and families to be together!!

We are so blessed and thankful for everything everyone did for our family for Christmas!! Now on to getting the house in order and finding room for all this new stuff :)

We are ready!!

2011-12-19T11:19:00.002-05:00

For Christmas that it :) Our shopping is done, our presents are wrapped and now we are just patiently waiting...well not all of us are so patient haha!! Kaylee asks me at least 25 times a day if it is Christmas yet or if she can open her presents!! She checks every day to see if the big socks, aka stockings have anything in them yet (I am waiting until Christmas eve to fill them because I know she will not be able to stay out of them). I am constantly finding her sitting by the tree just looking at all the presents. She loves for me to tell her which ones belong to who!! We have never made a big deal about Santa but this year she is all about Santa so we have kind of gone along with it. She informed me the other day that we will need to make cookies for Santa on Christmas eve lol..not sure where she learned about that..but she is really looking forward to it!!

I thought I was going to have a hard time keeping Kyle away from the tree this year but he really doesnt mess with it. Once he learned that the ornaments were not balls he has pretty much lost interest. He is also excited about Santa!! Of course he doesnt really understand the whole thing but he knows that Kaylee gets very excited when talking about Santa so now every time he sees Santa at the store or on TV he screams "SAMPA"!!

We are ready and excited!! Only 6 days til CHRISTmas!!

SICK :(

2011-12-19T11:14:00.002-05:00

Every Christmas since we have had kids one of them has been sick for Christmas :( This year I was really hoping to break that tradition but as of now we are ALL sick. Kaylee started it last week and then passed it to me a few days ago. Of course it didnt stop there, now John and Kyle are sick too. There is less than a week until Christmas but I am holding out hope that maybe, just maybe, we will all be better by then :)

Working on our Listening Skills

2011-11-30T10:06:00.003-05:00

You would never believe that this beautiful little girl has developed a listening problem. It has gotten worse over time and it is something that we are working very hard to correct. On a few different occassions over the last few weeks we have noticed that when we ask her to do something, or not to do something, she will do the complete opposite. We are working hard to break this and I think she is starting to realize that we mean business. It is so hard to be consistent but it is what she needs...she is very strong willed and will start running the show very quickly if your not careful. Actually as I type she is in her room in time out because she was standing in the chair that we constantly tell her not to stand in..I told her to please sit down and she said "no I just want to stand up" I calmy said to her "Kaylee you are not obeying, I asked you to sit down, remember If I say it..you obey it" She looked at me for a second and said "no I want to stand" so off to timeout she went!! After a few minutes I called her to come to me and she said "no Im just going to stay in my bed" my goodness when will she learn. I went and got her and told her when I call she needs to come..after we talked I sent her off to her bed again for not listening....when will she learn??? I sure hope this phase passes soon!!

Weight Loss Adventures

2011-11-30T09:57:00.003-05:00

About 3 1/2 weeks ago John and I decided to go on a pretty hardcore diet. I have been talking about dieting and tried a couple of times especially within the last year and a half but just couldnt stick with it. After really talking about it we decided that losing weight was something that was very important to both of us and we were gonna do it together :) It has been much easier this time since we are both doing it!! We have both seen big results and that has made it easier for us to stick with it. I have lost 15 pounds since I started and he has lost the same or maybe even more (he isnt keeping track as closely as I am lol) We are basically just trying to eat a reasonable about of calories and work out as many days of the week as we can. When we first started we looked up the nutritional values for the resturants we usually eat at and we were SHOCKED to learn how many calories we were eating just at one meal. Since we really enjoy eating out, we made a list of places that we can go and still get a good low calorie meal. The first few times we went out it was VERY hard to stay away from the rolls and breads that places usually bring out before your meal..but we have stayed strong :) I have also completly cut out sweet tea and any soda...basically I only drink water now. I drink a lot anyways and without even realizing it I would drink a whole gallon of tea every day and not think twice about it. I thought it would be much harder to stick to it that it has been. I guess we both really want it this time :) I would like to lose about 35-40 more pounds so hopefully it will fall off fast :)

My Crazy 2 Year Old

2011-11-10T10:45:00.002-05:00

So my 2 year old has this new obsession with sticking things up his nose. It happaned first a few weeks ago the night we got back from Disney World. We were sitting around and Kyle came to me pointing at his nose saying uh-oh...he had this funny look on his face but I didnt think much of it..I thought maybe he was coming down with a cold and his nose was stopped up. He kept saying uh-oh and pointing at his nose so i got him and looked up his nose and sure enough there was something up there but I couldnt tell what it was!! I was so glad John was home or I may have panicked lol. He layed him in his lap and I hold his head while John pulled a BEAD from his nose. He got into trouble and we didnt think we would have this issue anymore!! WRONG!!

Yesterday moning I was washing dishes and he came to me pointing at his nose saying uh-oh...I said "Son, there better not be anything up your nose" I got a flashlight and layed him on the bed and sure enough there was something up there. I couldnt tell what it was but it was pretty far up there and I didnt think I was going to be able to get it on my own without someone helping me hold him. I contemplated calling John at work but figured I would try to get it out myself first. Of course he wouldnt be still so I called over to my inlaws house (they live next door) and my brother in law was home so we headed over there so he could help me hold him down. Once I layed him down and started messing with his nose he started to sneeze..after a few sneezes he blew a balled up sticker out of his nose..WHEW!! I disciplined him and am really hoping we are not going to have this problem anymore. Everytime he sniffles the wrong way I immediately start thinking he has something else up there haha.. This boy sure keeps me on my toes lol

Craft Fair

2011-11-10T10:40:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday I participated in my first craft fair and had a blast. Pretty Please Designs has taken off and I am loving every minute of it. This was my first craft fair so I wasnt sure exactly how things would go but it turned out great. I am looking forward to all the other craft fairs I have signed up for and continuing to get my name out there!!! Here is a Turkey Bow I made last week that has been a big hit. Check out my facebook page for more of my cute accessories...www.facebook.com/prettypleasedesignslk

Fall Festivals

2011-11-10T10:06:00.004-05:00

We have really been enjoying getting out in the nice weather and taking the kids to as many fall festivals as we can find!! A few weeks ago we went to one at a church on the Southside that the kids really loved. It was a small festival but that was nice for the kids because they got to do more without being run over by big kids. We also decided we would take them to a festival on Halloween night instead of going trick-or-treating. Kaylee of course fell asleep on the way to the festival so she was in one of those moods when we got there...she was bring a grouch and didnt want to get any candy in her bucket so we let Kyle get it all and she was really regretting that for a few days after that lol. Kyle of course had a blast. We enjoyed all the Halloween festivities but I am glad its over so we can more onto Thanksgiving and CHRISTMAS!!!

Meet Spot

2011-11-07T21:53:00.003-05:00

So we decided to get another puppy..actually, Kaylee and I decided and John finally agreed. We havent had the best luck with past dogs for one reason or another but we decided to try again. The type of dogs John and I wanted were completly opposite so we have been tring to compromise for a while. I wanted (and still do) a big dog and he wanted no dog but was willing to settle for a small dog. I like small dogs but I think they are harder to train and also worry about the kids hurting them, but I figured for now a small dog was better than no dog!! So John found someone on craigslist giving away a little rat terrier/boston terrier mix and he thought it was adorable..he showed me and of course I agreed we should get him. So a week and a half ago we brought home Spot.

Spot was a few days shy of 7 weeks when we brought him home (he is 8 weeks today). Most puppies do not leave their mom until they are at lesat 8 weeks but Spots had to be seperated from his mom because she was trying to attack the puppies. We brought him home and he has really been doing great. I have been reading a lot about the correct ways to train a puppy and have found some really useful things on the internet.

Spot is doing great with his housetraining. He has only had 1 accident in the house since we got him..that is because he is only allowed to walk around the house when he has just went to the bathroom and I am still watching him like a hawk. We have decided to train him to go potty on puppy pads on the porch instead of going outside because it is getting cold and I am not a big fan of going outside in the middle of the night. He is doing great going pee on the puppy pad but will go poop anywhere on the porch he pleases (at least its on the porch and easy to clean up and not in the house)

I have read about how important it is to make your dog understand that you are the leader and he will learn what it is that you expect from him. Spot has already learned at his young age to sit, and stay until I tell him to come. He has also learned that he has to sit at the door and wait until I tell him he can come in from the porch.

Today i took Spot outside for the first time. I have been reading that it doesnt matter how much you play and exercise the dog that nothing will compare to the amount of physical and mental exercise the dog gets when going for a walk. I learned that the dog must learn to walk beside or behind you, never in front and never pulling on the leash. We went for 2 walks today and on the second walk Spot had no problem with walking behind me. I have noticed a big difference in Spot since he got to go out and walk today. He has been much calmer in the house and didnt whine at all when he had to go into his crate.

When its to cold for Spot to go be on the porch and I can't watch him closely in the house he goes into his crate. He also goes into his crate when we leave the house. He whined at first in the crate but each day he gets better and better with being it in. Tonight is the first night he is sleeping in the crate. I have been sleeping on the couch with him since we got him because I was afraid he would whine and wake the kids but I decided since he is doing better in his crate we will try it out tonight and see how he does. So far so good!

Kaylee absolutly LOVES Spot..she is constantly wanting to hold him and play with him and she hears me trying to trach him things and she wants to help me. She is very good with him but is a little rougher than I would like her to be. Sometimes she doesnt realize he is a real little puppy not a toy lol. Kyle started out scared of the dog..he would scream any time the dog would jump up on him (another thing we are working with Spot on) but not he loves the puppy too. The first thing he says when he wakes up is "dog dog" and goes looking for Spot.

Overall Spot has been a good little pup so far and I hope he will continue to do good and be a good dog so he can stick around for a while :)

The Happiest Place on Earth

2011-10-25T10:42:00.005-04:00

We had such a wonderful time this past week at Disneyworld...it really is the happiest place on earth lol. Kaylee has been a few times before and Kyle went once when he was 3 months old but this was by far the best trip because they were old enough to really enjoy everything. They loved it ALL. Kaylee loved our "Disney House" aka hotel room lol..she couldnt believe all the Mickey stuff in there lol. We stayed at the Pop Centry resort this time and the kids enjoyed all the huge disney characters around the hotel.

Thursday night we went to "Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party" at Magic Kingdom. It was really fun. The kids dressed up as Woody and Jessie from Toy Story and the were ADORABLE!! Since the park is open only to those with the seperate party ticket it wasnt as crowded and we were able to get on some rides with minimal wait. The best part was all the candy. They give you bags when you go in the park and you can go around to different candy stations as many times as you want and get your bags filled with candy. I think we have enough candy to last us until next halloween lol.

On Friday we went to Hollywood Studios and Kyle REALLY enjoyed the stunt show with all the cars and motorcycles and even Lightning McQueen!! That evening we went to Epcot and really enjoyed the Food and Wine festival. We got to get a little taste of different foods from all around the world :) The kids loved riding Nemo and seeing all the big fish tanks. Kyle couldnt believe his eyes lol..he kept saying "WOW BISH!!"

Saturday we slept in a little then headed to Animal Kingdom. I think the kids may have enjoyed this park the most. We got to see lots of animals and even ride a train to the petting zoo!! Saturday afternoon we decided to head back to Epcot but it was sooo crowded we only stayed for a little while. Saturday night Johns parents watched the kids and we went to Downtown Disney and walked around and got to enjoy some time without the kids!!!

We all had such a great time and Kaylee is already asking when we get to go back lol. Kyle was excited to get home and he acted like he had never seen any of his toys before haha..I loved seeing them have such a good time!!

Its Finally Fall

2011-10-04T12:23:00.003-04:00

So I am one of those people who wants it to be cold when its hot and once its hot cant wait for it to be cold again lol. We went out Friday night and it was hot and when we woke up Saturday it was cold!! It felt so good. We spent the whole day outside..we walked around St. Augustine and then went to Rivercity to get some fall decorations. October, November and December are my FAVORITE months of the year!! I love all the decorations and festivities these months bring :) Here is our fall decorations!!

The Countdown Is On

2011-09-29T09:09:00.002-04:00

We are going to Disneyworld in a few weeks and Kaylee couldn't be more excited!! She has been a few times but the last time she went she was only about 1 1/2 and Kyle was only a couple months so neither of them remember anything!! We have been talking to Kaylee about it for a while and she asks everyday if today is the day we are going...so we created a countdown jar!! I cut up small pieces of paper and drew mickey mouse on them and we put one in the jar for everyday we have left before we go!! I told her everymorning when she gets up we can take one out and when they are all gone it will be time to go!! She got up thismorning and asked to get the jar and she took one out and then came back a few minutes later and said "Mom can I go ahead and take all of them out because I am really ready to go to Disney now" haha!! These few weeks are going to drap by for her lol

Pick Up Scheduled

2011-09-26T12:32:00.002-04:00

I posted a while ago about a blog I am in love with called iheartorganizing.blogspot.com I havent visited the site in a while and last night I came across it again and got inspired. We have a small house and a ton of stuff so simplifying is a MUST!! I have been saying I need to call for a donation pick-up but wanted to wait until I had gone through everything before I called. I decided to go ahead and schedule it for TOMORROW so that I would have no choice but to get everything cleaned out TODAY!! The kids room was going to be my biggest task. They have so much toys and a lot of small things that are broken or have pieces missing..so we tackeled their room and got rid of 4 bags of clothes and toys that they no longer use!! WOW..they are going to have so much more room and hopefully wont have as hard of a time keeping it clean! I am now moving on to the rest of the house while they are playing with all the toys they had forgotten they had that were at the bottom of the toy box!! Hope I can keep my motivation :)

2 Years Old

2011-09-25T22:54:00.003-04:00

I am a week behind on this post and probably would be later than that if I didnt have a 3 hour nap today and now I'm wide awake with nothing to do haha!! Our sweet boy turned two last week!! We were going to have a party for him last week but ended up postponing it until yesterday because of the weather. Last Sunday on his actual birthday John had to work so the kids and I went to church and went to lunch with my family to celebrate..that night John's parents came over and brought a cookie cake and his big birthday present from them...a bike!! It was actually pretty sad because Kaylee has been begging for a bike and we keep telling her she has to wait until Christmas!! When she saw the bike she was so excited but was quickly dissappointed when she realized that it was for Kyle and that he wasn't even going to let her near it haha!! That night she told John "Daddy I sure did want a bike too"!! It was so sad..John's parents thought she already had a bike and felt so bad so they went and got her a pink one to match the next day!! She is one happy little girl :)

Yesterday we had his little party at Sunny Acres park and it was HOT but we all had a great time! It was mostly just a family and out sweet friends the Slegers. Everyone was very generous and Kyle got lots of new toys and clothes. He LOVES and kind of cars and trucks and thats what we told everyone to get him. He was in heaven with all his new cars!! When we got home and I brought all his stuff in and took it out of the bags he started laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes haha. I guess he couldnt believe all that was for him!!

Kyle continues to be such a sweet laid back little guy! He is his daddys boy, his mommas baby and his sisters best friend :) He is perfectly happy playing by himself but he cannot be left alone for a second haha. He is in to EVERYTHING!! He will unload a cabinent or take something apart in a matter of seconds if you arent watching him haha! He is starting to finally talk more but would prefer for Kaylee to just do the talking for him! He is still a great eater and doesnt turn down much. He loves to be outside and his favorite passtime is riding with papa on his mini-bike :) We are so thankful for these last two great years with our boy and can't wait to see what is in store for his future!Chillin in Mommy and Daddys bed on his birthday morningCan you tell she is EXCITEDThis just melts my heart :)Enjoying a cupcake at his party

Some of his new stuff he got at his party!!

Pretty Please Designs

2011-09-19T12:53:00.002-04:00

I have been making Kaylee's hairbows since she was really small and I have always thought about having a little side buisness selling them. I figured that I was going to make them for her anyhow so I might as well try to make a little money!! I never really got around to doing it until last week. I got a bunch of new ribbon just planning to make some new stuff for Kaylee and they turned out really cute. I showed them to John and he said that I really should think about making a facebook fanpage to try and get my name out there..so I can up with a name "Pretty Please Designs" and started the fanpage. Within 2 days of starting the page I had over a 100 people like the page and even had a few orders. I am so excited about this!! I know this is not something that will make me millioms ;) But its something I really enjoy doing. If your interested in seeing some of my items for sale you can check out www.facebook.com/prettypleasedesignslk

School: Week 2

2011-09-02T13:19:00.003-04:00

So we have finished week 2 of school and Kaylee is loving it!! We worked on the letter B and Number 2 this week. The first week we did a lot of worksheets and although she enjoyed it I thought she was bored with it. So this week I got a lot of ideas from pinterest and we did much more than just worksheets, she seemed to learn more and enjoy it more also! We went to the library and got books that talked about the letter B and number 2 and also a few others she wanted. Every day we had reading time and her and Kyle both enjoyed that. I found a neat website that gives you a bible verse for each letter of the alphabet and this week was Acts 16:31 "Believe in the Lord Jeses" she can recite the verse but not the reference quite yet. We also played some games using popsicle sticks and that is really helping her learn and recognize her letters and numbers. I decided Fridays would be our funday and we would do some kind of fun craft or game and today we made homemade playdough. She loved it and it turned our great but it was such a sticky, messy process. I think we will just stick with the store bought stuff!! Next week we are working on the letter C so I got the Hungry Little Caterpillar book from the library and have planned a bunch of neat stuff to go along with that!! More on that next week :)

From Pillowcase to Accessories

2011-08-25T09:20:00.004-04:00

Instead of doing something productive yesterday we had a craft day..while the kids did their own little crafts I decided to try out some things I had seen on pinterest and other websites. I needed old fabric scraps but the only ones I really had were Christmas ones and that wasn't what I was looking for so I decided to use an old pillowcase. I made flower bows and a headband and even rings and earrings for Kaylee and I. I couldnt believe how cute the stuff turned out and now I can't wait to get more fabric to make much more stuff!! Here is some of what we made :)

iheartorganizing.blogspot.com

2011-08-23T10:03:00.003-04:00

I came across this blog a few days ago and I am in love with it!! She has some awesome ideas for organizing and I can't wait to get started organizing!! I have never seen a house as organized as hers...she even has everything in her fridge and freezer organized and labeled!! Now that is AWESOME. I'm not sure I will ever be that organized but hey a girl can dream right :) Stay tuned for before and after pictures..I'm going to pick one spot per day to work on until the whole house has been done (at least thats my goal anyway..may change my mind once I get started lol)!!

Schedules and School

2011-08-23T09:31:00.004-04:00

Since I became a stay at home mom about a year and a half ago we really havent followed much of a schedule..we wake up when we want, eat when we want, clean when we want and sleep when we want!! I was getting a little frusterated with how our days were going and how the kids were acting so John suggested that getting the kids into some kind of routine may help their behavior and make me a little less stressed, so last week I wrote out a schedule that I thought may work for us and decided that we would start yesterday since it was also the first day of the new school year. I also started K-3 yesterday with Kaylee. We have been practicing "school" for a while now but never really anything that was organized, I would just print worksheets off the computer and she would do them. So I sat down and wrote out a calendar of exactly what we would work on each week from now until the end of the year and we had a successful "school day". I put a little desk and workstation for Kaylee right beside my desk and she loves that she has her own place to do her school. The kids and I had such a great day and I think that we will have much better days if we can stick to this!! Kaylees new school spot :)Computer time...we just discovered pbskids.org (thanks to my cousin Kristin) and we love the educational games they have!!Just thought I'd share with everyone just how crazy cute this little guy is..he dumped his beans out all over the table and put the bowl on his head, I walked in the kitched and said "why son" and he pointed at his head and said "hat" lol Oh and yes, of course there was bean juice still all in the bowl which got all in his hair and down his neck!!! LOVE HIM :)

Monkey Boy

2011-08-18T20:38:00.005-04:00

This child is seriously a monkey...he climbs on everything all the time!! From the time he wakes up until the time he goes to bed he is nothing but a ball of energy lol. This is what he was up to thismorning. Oh how I love this boy :) And by the way..one month from today this boy will be 2!!!

Hairbow Frame

2011-07-21T20:42:00.003-04:00

I saw this cute idea on Pinterest and I had to try it out for all of Kaylees bows that are always all over the place..I LOVE how it turned out and it was super. All you have to do it take everything out of an old picture frame until all thats left is the outside frame. Then hot glue pieces of ribbon from one side of the frame to the other and when its dry clip on the hairbows!!! I love things that are cute and functional :)

Johns 26th Birthday

2011-07-19T10:40:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was Johns 26th birthday and since he has been wanting to go to Clarks Fish Camp thats where we went for dinner. It was John, Kaylee, Kyle and I and his parents and brother and Mamie and Papa. Its been a long time since we had been there and neither of the kids have ever gone. I forgot how much I love that resturant. Its a really cool place. They have just added on to the building and have added a lot more animals since I had left been there. There is also a new turtle and alligator exhibit that they are working on right now. Kaylee loves animals so she was in heaven looking at everything. The food was delicious and after we ate we all stood around on the dock for a while feeding the fish, alligators and turtles!! We all had such a great time. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband that works so hard for me and our family. Happy Birthday Babe...WE LOVE YOU!!

B is for Bouncy Ball

2011-07-19T10:01:00.003-04:00

I have started working on preschool at home with Kaylee. I really want to homeschool and I thought it wouldnt hurt us to get started now. We both LOVE it!! I have been printing out tons of worksheets for her to do and made us a schedule of what we are going to work on. Each week we will focus on a letter and a number and also try to memorize a bible verse. We already learned the fruits of the spirit but I found cute little worksheets to go along with that so we are going over one again each week!! I love teaching her new things and she really loves to learn. She begs every day to do school and always wants to do more than I have planned for her. I am trying to cherish this time that she begs to do schoolwork because i know it wont last forever.

This week we are working on the letter B. I found a little project on pinterest that I thought would be perfect for this week...Homemade bouncy balls!! I had everything we needed except cornstarch so we picked some of that up at walmart and yesterday we made our bouncy balls. It was really easy and Kaylee was so proud that she had made her own ball.

All you need is 2 cups, 1/2 tsp of borax, 2 tbsp of glue, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 2 tbsp of water.

Mix water and borax together in a cup. Pour glue and cornstarch into the other cup but do not stir..then pour 1/2 tsp of the borox mixture over the glue and cornstarch. Let them react on their own for 15-20 seconds then stir them until they wont stir anymore. Knead the mixture into a ball shape. You can add food coloring if you like but I just left ours white. The ball will bounce better on the carpet and you have to put it in a ziploc bag or it will dry out!!

Homemade Laundry Soap

2011-07-19T09:32:00.003-04:00

About the time I started making my own baby wipes I also found a recipe for homemade laundry soap. If your anything like our family then you know how expensive laundry soap is. Especially when you leave the clothes in the washer for to long and have to re-wash them like I am known for doing lol. Anyways there are a lot of laundry soap recipes online but I chose to use the one that the Duggar family uses. I figured they probably wash nore clothes than any other family so they should have a pretty good recipe lol. I was a little hesitant at first that the clothes wouldnt get clean, or wouldnt smell good but they really do. John has very sensitive skin so he was worried that he may break out or something but we have been using it for about 2 months now and its going great. When I calculated how much we were saving in one year just from making it ourself I was shocked. You can buy all the stuff you need at walmart for under $7.00 and if my calculations are correct then you should have enough to make soap for one whole year before you need to buy the supplies again. $7 per year as opposed to $12 every 2 weeks....can't beat that!! I had to make my second batch of soap yesterday so I thought I would document it for anyone who wants to save money and make their own soap.

What you will need:

-5 Gallon Bucket w/ lid

-Hot Tap Water

-1 cup of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Powder (you have to use the washing powder..baking soda will not work)

-1 bar of soap (I use Ivory because I got a bunch of it free from couponing)

-1/2 cup of borax

Directions:

-Grate bar of soap

-Add 4 cups of hot tap water and grated soap in a small pot and cook over medium heat until all soap is melted. You really need to stir it the entire time.

-Fill your 5 gallon bucket half way full with hot tap water

-Add in melted soap, borax and super washing powder to your 5 gallon bucket. Stir until all powder is disolved.

-Fill bucket to the top with more hot water

-Cover the 5 gallon bucket and let sit overnight to settle.

I saved a few old laundry soap containers and I go ahead and fill them up when the soap is ready. If you want you can add some lavendar oil while you are melting the soap if you want your soap to have a stronger smell. I just use fabric softener and to me they smell great :)

Homemade Baby Wipes

2011-07-18T22:18:00.003-04:00

I love the Duggar family and a few months ago I was reading on there website that they make their own baby wipes to save money. I figured I would give them a shot and I ended up LOVING them. There are much cheaper than store bought baby wipes and in my opinion they work better. I thought I would post the recipe for those of you who wanted to try!!

You cut one roll of papertowels in half so that you have two toilet paper sized rolls. I have tried a couple different brands of pepertowels but found that Bounty works best.

Mix 2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol and 2 tablespoons of baby oil together

Put 1 of the papertowel halves in a large bowl and drizzle the mixture over them.

Let them soak for 30 minutes then remove cardboard from the center

After the 30 minutes I go ahead and tear them all apart and put them in an old baby wipe case so they will stay moist.

They smell and work great and I LOVE that I made them myself. I no longer have to rush to the store to get wipes before the next dirty diaper lol..I can just make some more :)

22 Months

2011-07-18T09:08:00.002-04:00

Can you believe this precious boy is 22 months old today?? I know I sure can't!! How in the world is my BABY going to be 2 in just 2 short months??? Time is flying!! This sweet boy brings us so much joy. He is his daddys boy, his mommys baby, and his sisters best friend. He is just such a happy kid. He loves life and is always in a good mood. We are so happy God chose us to be his parents!!

Thumper

2011-07-18T08:44:00.002-04:00

I don't know how in all my catching up I forgot to mention our rabbit thumper...or "Thumpter" as Kaylee calls her. Kaylee really loves animals and we wanted to get her something that wouldnt be too much work (although the rabbit is a little more work than I would have liked). We got her about a month ago from a lady on craigslist who was giving her away. She came with a nice big cage and everything she needed to get her started at her new home. We decided that we would give it a trial run and if it just didnt work out we could give her away and we wouldnt be out any money. The kids both adore her so much that even if I wanted to I wouldnt be able to give her away lol. I dont absolutly love having her around...but its not that bad. The first night we got her I didnt realize just how fast they are and I let her down in the living room and Kyle scared her and she ran up under the couch LOL. So now we only let her run around on the porch so that there is nothing she can get into. She loves Kaylee and will let her pick her up and hold her and she loves John and will cuddle up in his lap. Kyle and I on the other hand she is not so crazy about. She is terrified of Kyle and runs from him and she always seems so uneasy when I am handeling her. It usually takes me about 15 minutes to catch her to get her back into her cage every time we take her out which is SUPER annoying haha....Oh the things we do for our kids :)

2011-07-17T22:03:00.003-04:00

www.pinterest.com I strongly suggest everyone go and check out this website. I saw a few people talking about it on facebook but had no clue what it was so I decided last night to check it out and I am obsessed. Basically people go on and "pin" different things they like, pictures, quotes, articles, products, tutorials and all kinds of other stuff and when you click on the pictures it will take you to a website that goes more into detail about that "pin". Like if someone pinned a picture of a cake, you can click on the picture of the cake and it will take you to the website that will show you the recipe of the cake. You can then "re-pin" different things you like and save them into categories so you can go back to them later. I found so many recipes, crafts, and kids activities that I can't wait to try.

Dora Bed

2011-07-17T21:53:00.004-04:00

When Kyle got his new Thomas bed we realized that Kaylee didnt really need her big full size bed and that it was just taking up extra space in there room so we decided to move her back to a toddler bed. She really wanted a small bed like Kyles so it worked out perfectly. A few days ago Mamie and Pa got Kaylee a new Dora toddler bed and she LOVES it. I put it together in the living room as soon as we brought it home and she laid in it until John came home because she was so excited to show him lol. We decided to leave her "Big Bed" in her room for the first night just in case she didnt like it as much as we thought but she begged us to move it out. We moved it out the next day and she was so excited. She loves the dora bed and sleeps great in it. I'm so glad we moved her back because now there room is so much more open and we don't have to worry about Kyle jumping on her big bed anymore haha!!

Frog Potty

2011-07-17T21:33:00.002-04:00

Isn't he so adorable in his little undies??? We got him the smallest size they had and they still are huge on him lol. I can't believe he is even old enough to begin potty training. We started a few weeks ago just introducing the potty and he is doing great. I usually keep him in underwear throughout the day if we are going to be home and he hasnt had any accidents yet. I wouldnt have started potty training him yet but he was getting to the point where every time he would pee in his diaper he would take it off..so I thought he might be getting ready!! He still doesnt talk much so I wasn't sure how he was going to tell me he needed to go but I have just just been setting a timer for every 30 minutes and as soon as I take his undies off he knows to go sit on the potty and he will clap whenever he goes pee lol. I can't believe that we will only be buying diapers for just a little while longer. I thought we would never get past diapers haha. My babies are growing up so fast!!!

You smell like a.....

2011-07-14T17:23:00.002-04:00

CRAB!!! Yep, thats what my sweet little angel told some old lady today in the walmart bathroom. She waited until the last minute to tell me that she needed to go to the bathroom and she was about to go in her pants so off we went running. Of course when we get in there all the stalls are full and there is a line. An older lady came out of a stall and it was finally out turn so we ran in behind her...before I could get the door closed Kaylee says (in her extremly loud voice) "ewww mom that lady smells like a crab!!" I was so embarassed and everyone in the bathroom laughed. I quietly asked her to hush and do her buisness but of course she kept elaborating and saying "did you smell that mom", "she did smell like a crab didn't she" lol...Thats the innocence of a child for ya haha!!

The Beach

2011-07-10T20:44:00.003-04:00

Today we had a beach day...the kids and I LOVE the beach but John really isnt a huge fan. Whenever he comes to the beach with us he usually takes a lot of time to prepare and pack stuff to make the trip as fun as possible. We loaded up and headed out thismorning hoping to beat the crowd and the rain and we ended up getting a perfect spot. We found a spot where we could park right close to the beach and there was no one around. The kids had such a good time. Mamie and Pa got them new fishing poles so they had a great time fishing. Kaylee assumed that every time she reeled in her pole she would have a fish on it so she was a little dissapointed. Kyle has a great time whenever he is outside, it doesn't matter what we are doing. He is such a daredevil and is not afraid to get in the water and will try to catch crabs and anything else he sees. Kaylee is much more cautious and although she likes the water she would prefer to be holding someones hand or at least be close. She is terrified of the little crabs and doesnt even want to walk if she sees one in her path lol. Kyle is a little sand MONSTER he is covered from head to toe within 5 minutes of getting to the beach. Kaylee hates the sand and is constantly carrying around a water bottle so she can rinse herself off. Its funny to see how different they are.

Thomas Bed

2011-07-10T20:28:00.003-04:00

I cant believe how fast our sweet boy is growing up. We just made the switch to a big boy bed and he is doing great. My sweet friend Brandy gave us the toddler bed her little boy just got done using and it is so adorable. I thought he may not sleep as well while he was first adjusting to it but he really has done great. He gets out a few times when we first put him to bed but never comes out of his room. All we have to do is tell him to get back in the bed and he will. I figured he would probably fall out at first since he wasnt used to sleeping without rails and he is such a wild sleeper but he hasnt yet. Of course its less than a foot off the floor so if he did fall out he wouldnt be hurt :) The first night I went in to check on him before I went to bed and he looked so grown up laying there in his big bed...Im so happy for all these big milestones but at the same time sad that my baby is growing up!!!

FINALLY

2011-07-09T21:39:00.009-04:00

I am finally able to post pictures so I can get back to updating my blog more often. I have wanted to update so many times but I feel like a post with no pictures is BORNIG!! So I have lots of catching up to do. I didnt re-read my last few posts so I am not sure what I have already talked about but I just wanted to go back in and add pictures so I would have them here for my own future reference :)

Kaylee turned 3 back in March and I know I already posted about that but here are the pictures to go along with it. John and I took her to Chuck E Cheese and then my Nana and papa also had a little party for her at a park but I didnt get any pictures of that :( Here are the Chuck E Cheese pictures. For Easter we went to my mom and dads and had a pool party..the kids LOVED their easter baskets that my nana made for them and had a great time hunting easter eggs that Pappy and Uncle Jordan did for them. They also got to spend some time in the pool with is one of their favorite things to do :) In May Kaylee was the flower girl in Katelyns wedding and she was the most beautiful little flower girl I have ever seen :) She did a great job (despite the way she acted at the rehersal) and she has been asked to be a flower girl in my other cousin Farryns wedding at the beginning of next year!! Hopefully she will do as great of a job :) A few days after the wedding Kyle had his surgery for his ear tubes. I know I posted details about that in a previous post so I won't explain the whole ordeal again but I will say what a HUGE difference the tubes have made. Before the surgery he was ALWAYS sick and he hasnt been sick once since he got them put in. His balance is also a lot better. He used to fall all the time and no he runs around with no problems and we are always commenting on how fast he is!! We were hoping that the tubes would help improve his speech but that really hasnt changed much. We will more than likely be starting him in speedch therapy very soon!!

May Update

2011-05-28T10:37:00.003-04:00

Our home computer has been broken for over a month now making it hard for me to update the blog and impossible for me to post pictures. But i thought it was time for an update. We have been keeping busy around here and are enjoying this nice warm weather. The kids are both doing great and loving life.

Kaylee has been 3 now for a few months and is no longer a baby...she talks ALL the time and sings non-stop. She has a major attitude that gets her in trouble quite often but can be a sweetheart when she wants to be. She tells me all the time that her daddy is her best friend and that I can be her best friend another day haha. She loves her bubba and always wants to be around him even though they are usually fighting lol. She has told me several times that she wants to give Kyle back and get a new tiny brother that she can hold. She wants him to be her baby and let her rock him and wrap him in blankets but of course he wants nothing to do with that. She still hates the doctor and will cry if you even mention taking her there...she probably needs to go for her 3 year check-up but I just haven't been able to bring myself to take her and go through the ordeal haha. She was in my cousin Katelyns wedding a few weeks ago and surprised us all. I kept telling Katelyn that I didn't think she was going to walk down the aisle and that she may want to choose someone else but she wanted Kaylee..I was sure it was going to be a disaster and she would cry and make a scene but she proved me wrong. During the rehearsal the night before she cried and wouldn't walk down the aisle but the day of the wedding she grabbed her basket and told me I could go sit down because she was going to be the flower girl and sure enough she was the cutest most perfect little flower girl lol. She loves to be outside and play on her swing set and go on bike rides. She is finally becoming a less picky eater but most of the time it is a struggle to get her to eat something healthy.

Kyle is 20 months old and is my wild child haha. He is completely opposite from Kaylee in every way. He is a climber and isn't scared of anything...he is perfectly content playing on his own in his room and doesn't need anyone to entertain him. He also loves to go outside and play and go on bike rides but would much rather be riding on papas mini bike lol. He went for his surgery for tubes and to get his adenoids removed a few weeks ago but they ended up only doing the tubes because the doctors didn't think he was healthy enough to do the adenoids. Since the tubes he has been doing great...no sickness and a much happier boy. He still isnt talkin much but he will try to repeat things sometimes. I am VERY anxious to potty-train him so I have started having him sit on the toilet sometimes but he is no where near ready yet to ditch the diapers. He enjoys playing with his sister sometimes but I usually trying to aggravate her by taking things from her or hitting her or pulling her hair. Typical little brother. He is finally at the age where I know he understands what he is doing so the discipline wit him is beginning. Kaylee loves that she isn the only one to get in trouble anymore haha!!

We are looking forward to a fun filled summer and hopefully soon I will be able to post pictures of our latest adventures :)

Extreme Couponing

2011-04-26T11:20:00.002-04:00

Has anybody seen this new show on tlc?? Well I have and I'm hooked!! I am by no means an extreme couponer like the people on this show but the show has definitely inspired me to start couponing. I have only been doing in for a couple of weeks now but I have done hours and hours of researching and I was able to score a bunch if items for free last week and some that I was even paid to take out of the store. It is a great feeling to leave the store with bags full of stuff knowing you paid next to nothing for it all. I have pretty much figured out how to do fairly well at Walgreens and cvs by using their reward systems but I haven't tried couponing at the grocery store yet. That's a little more indepth and I wanted to make sure I knew exactly what I was doing first. I will admit that it very time consuming planning your shopping trips and it gets a little stressful when you get to the register especially if you have more than one transaction..but it is so worth it. I feel like for me being a stay at home mom it is a great way to contribute to my family.

Ear Tubes and Adenoids

2011-04-14T20:22:00.002-04:00

We have been having some computer issues around here lately so I haven't been able to update but my poor boy has had a lot going on!! He has always had issues with his ears and has had lots of infections but this year it has gotten worse. Since January he has had ear infections that we can't seem to get rid of. He has had numerous antibiotics and shots and nothing seems to help so his pediatrician recommended that we take him to an ENT. He went for a hearing test also because she thought all the ear infections were probably affecting his hearing and she was right. He has so much fluid in his ears that he is having a very hard time hearing and she thinks is also why he doesn't talk much. The ENT doctor said that he is a good candidate for the tubes and that she also wants to remove his adenoids at the same time because Thayer are holding infection and causing him to be sick all of the time. Poor little guy just can't catch a break. But we couldn't ask for a better boy...even through all of this he is still always smiling and just as happy as can be. They weren't able to get him in for surgery until May 10th so right now we are just trying to keep him as healthy as possible. Last weekend he started having issues with his eyes draining really bad and they got so swollen he could barely open them..his pediatrician has assured us that having these procedures is going to make a huge difference for him. It is always scary when your baby has to be put to sleep for surgery but we know that God is in control and are praying that this will help him be a healthy happy boy :)

3 years old

2011-03-28T11:00:00.002-04:00

I can hardly believe that my princess turned 3 two days ago. John and I were talking the other night and we were saying that we feel like I was just finding out I was pregnant with her but then again we feel like we have had her forever haha!! Kaylee spent all of last week celebrating her birthday and she doesnt even realize that actually her birthday was only one day lol. We decided this year not to have a big party for her but instead we did a bunch of little things celebrating at different times with different people. We started out last Monday night at Chuckee Cheese. It was just John and I and Kaylee and Kyle and we had a blast!! We went right when he got off of work and it wasnt crowded at all. Both kids had a blast playing the games and Kaylee even got a little birthday cake!! Neither of the kids were too sure about Chuckee when he came out. They didnt cry but neither of them wanted to touch him and they made sure they knew where he was at all times. Then Wednesday we played with Kaylees best friend Michael at "Chickenla" (chick-fil-a). Friday we spend the afternoon with Grams then Saturday we spent the day with Michael again (per Kaylees request lol) Saturday night we had dinner and more cake at Johns parents house and the kids enjoyed playing in the yard. Then Sunday my Nana and Papa had another little party for her at the park!! Needless to say she has done a lot of celebrating and we are looking forward to a low-key week. She got lots of nice things for her birthday and her and Kyle have been entertained all morning going through all her new stuff :) She cried every time we someone sand happy birthday to her (not sure why) lol but then she would sing it to herself hen no one was around haha!! **Kaylee 3 year old stats** *She weighs 30 pounds and wears 3t clothes *She is an extremely picky eater and would rather eat nothing than eat something that is good for her *She LOVES to drink hot milk and has at least 2 glasses per day *She is fully potty trained and insists we check out the restroom EVERYWHERE we go *She loves her little binky and we are having an EXTREMELY hard time getting rid of it *She enjoys to color and paint and does so on a daily basis *Her favorite thing to do is be outside *Her favorite place is the Zoo!!

The Zoo

2011-03-15T16:32:00.005-04:00

Now that the weather is warming up I am sure we will be spending lots of time at the zoo. We went almost once a week last summer and now that we live closer and have passes I am sure we will be there all the time. We went today with some friends (the Slegers) and we had a blast...its so much fun now that the kids are a little bigger and I dont have to spend the entire time taking care of a baby :) We thought the waterpark would be open but I guess it still has a few weeks before its up and running...it was definintly hot enough for it today!! The kids have so much fun running around and playing..I think they like all the little parks and things they can climb on more that they like seeing the animals. I keep Kyle in his stroller for as long as I can because once I get him out he does not want to get back in. I think Kaylee's favorite part is still the goats...I got Kyle out so he could go in and pet the goats and he wasnt so sure about it at first, but after he saw that his friend Cambree was touching them he figured it was alright!! We had so much fun and can't wait to spend many more summer days there!!

The Library

2011-03-14T14:08:00.002-04:00

I took the kids to the library for the first time about a month ago. Kaylee LOVES books so she was in heaven..I quickly realized I had to give her a limit on how many books she could get each time because she was just grabbing handfuls and putting them in our bag lol...I let her get 10 books and she was thrilled!! They also have a little play area in the childrens section that the kids enjoyed..I told Kaylee before we went in that we had to be very quiet in the library and she did really well...of course Kyle was loud as usual haha..every time he would make a noise she would say "quiet bubba this is the libary" lol. She was a little upset the next time we went back when she realized that I was putting "her" books in the book drop. haha. She calmed right down when I told er we were going in to get a bag full of new books lol...We have been going about once a week and they are really enjoying it :) I'm so glad she enjoys reading!!

Swimming

2011-03-14T13:59:00.003-04:00

Kaylee has been wearing her bathing suit around the house for weeks now and has been asking if its time yet to go swimming. So last Wednesday I told her we could take her swim stiff to Mami's and see how cold the pool was...it was cold...really cold, but Kayle didnt mind. She only stayed in a few minutes because no one wanted to get in with her but she enjoyed herself. This was Kyles first time getting in without being in a baby float. I put one of those little life jacket swin suits on him and a pair of water wings and he enjoyed splashing around on the steps. It was a little to cold for him and he only enjoyed it for a few miniutes before he got out and sat by the back door waiting to go in lol. Kaylee has been asking everyday of we can go swimming again..the girl loves to be in the water!! Im looking forward to Summer...they are going to have so much fun :)
He looked so cute in his swim gear!!Acting like she was going to jump inThe pool was to cold for him...he just waited patiently by the door until it was time to go inReady to take her "wing wings" off!!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2011-03-04T14:29:00.001-05:00

Picnic Lunch

2011-03-04T14:13:00.005-05:00

Today was such a nice day that I decided to let the kids have a picnic lunch. Kaylee couldnt believe it when I told her we were going to have lunch outside lol..Usually therule is we can go outside after we eat our lunch. Kyle seemed a little confused why I was taking the food outside but didnt really mind. As long as he is getting lunch he doesnt care where he eats it at lol!! They were so sweet eating together and playing nicely together. I love seeing them have fun together, and I love that it only takes something as small as a picnic for them to have such a great day!! They are such a joy!!
PB&J and cheeseballs!! Yummy!!She said I needed to take a picture of her becasue she is "Super Kaylee" hahaI should have known he wasnt actually going to sit at the table and eatI LOVE this boyMaking sure he had the whole sandwich in his handsI think someone is getting ready for a nap :)

BUSTED

2011-03-04T12:13:00.003-05:00

This girl LOVES her candy!! I mean who doesnt right?? We have been trying to limit the amount of candy and sweets she has because she is a very picky eater and would just eat junk all the time if we let her. So now she gets candy as a reward and in much smaller portions than she is used to. We always have tons of candy in our house...I think every time someone comes over they bring some kind of goodies and of course Kaylee knows this. I used to keep in in a kitchen drawer but she realized where it was and started helping herself..so then it had to be moved up ono a shelf she couldnt reach. I guess thismorning it was left in her reach because I heard a loud noise and she said "Its okay mommy I dont need you to check on me" haha I knew immediately I better see what she was into. She wasnt very happy when I told her she had to pick up all the candy and couldnt have any since she tried sneaking it lol!! Silly girl!!

Jax Zoo Dino-Alive

2011-03-04T11:57:00.004-05:00

This week the zoo opened up a new attraction called Dino-alive and Tuesday and Wednesday night they had a members only preview. We dont usually go out during the week nights but we figured the kids would enjoy it and you never really get to go into the zoo at night so we thought it would be neat and it was. They have been announcing that dinos were coming to the zoo now for a while but they werent giving any details..so no one really knew what to expect!! We went on Tuesday afternoon and it was really neat..they have made a whole new section in the back of the zoo and had animatronic (spelling??) dinosaurs all in the woods. They moved and made noises and were really cool!! We didnt get to stay too long because the weather was cooler than we expected and we werent prepared for that..but Kaylee loved looking at the dinosaurs..you could tell in her face that she was enjoying it but she sat on daddys shoulders the whole time and was very cautious of everything around her lol. We had so much fun that we decided to go back again Wednesday night..this time we were better prepared and heven took the camera :) Kaylee wasnt as nervous this time since she knew what to expect and she even wanted to walk around. It is a really neat addition to the zoo and Im sure we will be visiting the dinos again soon!!Family Picture

Kyle wouldnt take his eyes off the dinos for a pictureKaylee and Daddy!! Can you tell she was HAPPY!!!

I think I can I think I can!!!

2011-02-18T11:28:00.003-05:00

I have been struggling with losing my baby weight since well....about 3 years ago when Kaylee was born lol...I gained over 50 pounds with her and wasnt even close to losing it when I got pregnant with Kyle and gained more..so needless to say I have a lot to lose. I have tried many different diets and I would stick to them for a few days and then give up!! Man it is hard to lose weight. But summer has come and I have promised myself that this time I am going to do it...I AM goingto get this weight off!! I started weight watchers a few days ago and I think that it is something I am going to be able to stick with...I have done the pasrt couple days with no problems and I dont feel deprived which is usually why I give up. I even took the kids to McDonalds thismorning to play and I made sure I ate before I got there so I wouldnt be as tempted and I did it...i got nothing. Those of you who know me well know that is a major accomplishment because McD's is my weakness!! I LOVE it. I have also been going to the gym and I took my firt ZUMBA class last night...it was so much fun and a great workout. I loved it. I know that the weekend is going to be the hardest time of week for me, but I am praying that I will be able to stick with it because I really want to be able to wear my bikini at the beach this year lol....wish me luck!! I have 39 pounds to lose to get to my goal weight. I CAN DO THIS!!!

My Girl

2011-02-14T17:21:00.003-05:00

My sweet little girl has not been so sweet today!! In fact she has been the opposite..we are having a VERY rough day. The morning went fine but as the day progressed things went downhill. She had been asking to go outside and play all morning so I told her that after she ate lunch and cleaned her playroom I would take her out to play. Of course as soon as I mentioned cleaning her playroom the waterworks started...she HATES to clean her playroom!! It is like torture to her lol!! I told her there was no need to cry and if she ate all her lunch I would HELP her clean it. Next she cried because I wouldnt let her have doughnuts for lunch...what a mean mommy I am haha!! Her Gram brought over a dozen heart shaped valentines day doughnuts and she thinks that she should be able to have them for every meal until they are gone. We finally setteled on a ham and cheese lunchable and some blueberries...but after I got it all out on the table for her she didnt want that either so she cried....and cried...and cried!! I ended up just telling her to forget about lunch and we would move on to cleaning...She did get the playroom picked up although she cried the whole time. So I said we could go outside for a while thinking that would cheer her up. It worked for a little while but then she started crying about every little thing and I got frusterated and told her we were coming in to call daddy. I always threaten to call daddy but never have actually done it..but this time I had had enough. So I called daddy and he told her to go get in bed!! She cried for about two seconds and then passed out...I hope she wakes up happier. I want my sweet girl back!!

FINALLY!!!

2011-02-14T08:43:00.003-05:00

I finally got a new card for our camera so i can take pictures again...I am so happy!! I love taking pictures and I have felt like I missed so many memories not having my camera haha. I finally realized that it was just the card for the camera that was scratched up so we picked up a new one and it works great!! Here are some pics of the kiddos from thismorning...they had heart doughnuts for breakfast since its valentines day :)
"Happy Balentimes Day Bubba"Enjoying his breakfast :)Pretty girl

The Binky

2011-02-10T15:12:00.003-05:00

I have a love hate relationship with these things..Heres the thing!! Both of my kids are completely addicted to them! And I kind of am too because without them my kids are cranky and dont sleep well!! My peditrician said that they need to be taken away when a child turns 2...so for Kyle to still have his is not a big problem but Kaylee will be 3 next month..so it really needs to go. I have tried taking it away numerous times and she went a couple of weeks without it and I thought we were going to finally be able to break her, but somehow she ended up with it again!! I know that I need to take it from her but I keep coming up with excuses because I know how much she loves it and how hard its going to be for her. It is already starting to mess up her teeth and I know its time its just hard. So Ive been limiting her MOST of the time to having it only when she sleeps (although she is sitting here right now with one in her mouth). That is kind of working but since Kyle walks around with one all the time she ends up finding one or taking his.

The other night I decided that we were quiting cold turkey, this was mostly due to the fact that I could only find one and I had already put Kyle in bed with it!! So she went ahead and got in her bed...she of course kept asking me for it and I told her that I wasnt sure where anymore were but if I came across one I would give it to her. Well she sand and played and talked to herself for a while then after a while I realised I no longer heard her but now Kyle was up playing and screaming. I went in to see what his deal was and sure enough she had taken his binky and curled up and went to sleep. I didnt have the heart to take it from her while she was sleeping, but I couldnt find another one so Kyle ended up having to go to bed without one. He finally fell asleep although it took him a lot longer than it normally would have.

So I say all that to say this. I think in order for me to get it away from Kaylee I am going to have to get rid of them all together!!! I am SOO not looking forward to this and I am sure we are going to have a few sleepless nights and some miserable car rides but I know its gotta be done!!! So wish me luck. We are starting next week!! I decided I would enjoy my peaceful weekend before the torture begins!! haha

Sick AGAIN

2011-02-03T09:56:00.002-05:00

My sweet babies just can't seem to stay well for more than about 2 weeks. I think we have been to the doctor at least once a week for the past month and a half. I took them yesterday because they both had really nasty coughs and fevers. They were acting fine, happy and playing, but I wanted to get them checked out before it turned into something else. Im glad I decided to take them because they both have bronchitis and ear infections. They have had so many ear infections lately...the doctor said if they keeo getting them we would have to talk about doing tubes. They had ear infections 2 weeks ago and were on antibiotics then I took them back last week for their re-check and they were fine..so I was shocked when she said Kyle had a very bad infection in one ear and Kaylee has infections in both ears...one of Kaylees ears was so bad it started bleeding when she put the thing in to look at it...it was so sad!! I can't wait until summer time...we seem to have a lot less sickness around here when the weather is warm :)

2011

2011-01-31T01:38:00.002-05:00

I have been neglecting my blog for so long now that I almost decided to do away with it. I keep meaning to update but my camera is broken and I feel like I cant post anything without pictures..haha silly I know!! It's been so long I barely even know where to begin!! Things around here are going great. Christmas was busy but a blast!! This was the first year Kaylee was actually excited for Christmas. She asked me on a daily basis from Thanksgiving until Christmas day if it was time for her to open her presents lol. She got so much stuff and she is still talking about Christmas haha. She was not thrilled about taking down the Christmas tree and the big socks (aka stockings) lol..I guess she thought they were permanent decorations. I assured her it would all be safe in the garage until next Christmas haha. Kyle also enjoyed Christmas...he didnt care to much about opening the presents but he sure liked playing with them. He wanted everything out of the box as soon as it was opened...haha!! We got a zoo membership and a MOSH membership for Christmas so Im sure we will be visiting those places lots this year. We also got tickets to the alligator farm in St. Augustine so we are going to visit there soon!!

The kids and I enjoyed having a few weeks off from school but were glad to get back. Things go much smoother when we stick to our routine!! The kids had a little bit of a rough time their first few days back after spending so much time at home with mommy...but they quickly got back into the swing of things!! We have had to visit the doctor way too many times already this year..Kaylee got croup, then both kids had bad colds, they both just got over double ear infections and now Kaylee is getting a nasty wet cough again so we will be making another trip to the doctor again tomorrow. I think its this weather...freezing one day and hot the next. Ill be glad when summer is here....they seem to stay much healthier during summer. Kyle has had a weird thing going on with his hands for the past couple of weeks..they will sometimes turn blue for no reason like he has no circulation to them. It happens randomely and the doctors are still trying to figure out what is causing it..more on that later!!

Other than all the sickness we are all pretty muchenjoying life. John is working a lot as usual...but we make up for it on the weekends!! We have been having a blast doing anything and everything. Both kids love to be out and doing things. They love to play outside and Kyle is such a little monkey....he is fearless and loves to make his momma nervous. Their new favorite thing to do it ride on Johns dads go carts and mini bikes..Kyle especially loves to ride and cries every time he has to let his sister take a turn...they are so funny!! I guess that about sums up what we've been up to!! Hopefully I will have a camera up and running again soon so i can get some pictures on here!!

Random Pictures

2010-12-20T09:33:00.003-05:00

I was having a hard time uploading pictures to my blog for a while so since its finally letting me I thought I would post a few :)My sweet babies...I just love footie pj'sSanta Baby
This was the first Christmas dress I made for Kaylee...I have made a few since then but don't have any picturesMy little monster learning to climb on the couch"Skeeping" as Kaylee would call it lol

Christmas Break

2010-12-20T09:24:00.002-05:00

Today is the first day of Christmas break for the kids and I. I wish everywhere gave a 2 week Christmas break so John could be with us...but unfortunantly thats not the case!! I actually really enjoy my job and the kids like going to school so I know we will be anxious to get back after these 2 weeks are up. We dont have much planned but I do know the one thing I will not miss is packing lunches and backpacks...this is my least favorite "mommy chore" (even worse than changing diapers) Today is going to be a cleaning and laundry day so we can have the rest of the week to just hang out!!

My Little "Helper"

2010-12-04T09:01:00.002-05:00

This boy is ALL over the place these days!! He is all boy and full of energy. He thinks he is grown now and doesnt want me to help him do anything lol. He LOVES to be outside and will stand at the back door and cry until we take him out. He knows exactly what to do to get what he wants!! He gets hurt all the time trying to climb on stuff and do things hes not supposed to...but hes tough, he barely ever cries!! Johns dad says we should make him wear a helment because he is constantly falling and hitting his head!! He tries to do everything that he sees Kaylee do. The other day he saw her with the broom and dust pan so when she put it back he went and grabbed it and was walking around the kitchen with it. He would scream when anyone came near him because he didnt want anyone to take it from him lol...He is a little handful..but I wouldn't trade him for the world!!

For some reason blogger isnt letting me add pictures to my posts...so once I figure out what is going on then I will try to add the pictures!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

2010-12-02T16:02:00.002-05:00

And today it sure feels like it too!! Its"weezing" outside, as Kaylee would say!! Our tree is up, our outside lights are up...and we are enjoying the Christmas season!! This is the first time Kaylee really understands Christmas and it is so much fun!! She keeps asking me when it will be Christmas as she points at her presents!! She is waiting so patiently!! She loves to plug the tree in and go outside and look at all the lights!! I sewed her a Christmas dress and she wore it to church last week. She was so proud of it haha..I think she thought she helped because she was sitting with me while I made it :) I am looking forward to seeing all the Christmas projects she will bring home from school!! I just love this time of year!!

Kyle of course has no clue whats going on..all he knows is that there is a big tree in the living room with lots of balls on it that he wants but cant have haha!! Kaylee is the tree protector...she yells at him anytime he goes near it lol. Im excited to start some new traditions this year with the kids and looking forward to spending lots of time with family and friends!! Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this time of year :)

My new hobby is...

2010-11-26T09:41:00.002-05:00

...sewing!!! My friend Monica and I had been talking about learning to sew for close to a year and a few months ago she got a machine and started learning. When I saw all the cute things she was making I decided I had to learn myself!! I had never touched a sewing machine in my life and had NO CLUE how to even turn it on..but I was determined I wanted to learn!! So I asked my nana if I got a machine if she would be willing to teach me and she told me that my aunt in Ocala had a machine I could have!! I was thrilled..so my nana and papa picked it up for me when they went to visit and I got it a couple of weeks ago!! It hadnt been used in a while so it needed to be cleaned and oiled so my sweet friend from church who is a seamstress offered to take it home and get it ready for me. She brought it back to me on Tuesday and taught me how to thread it and shoed me the basics. I came home and started playing with it and fell in love. It is so much fun seeing what you can come up with to make. So far I have made a dress, some leggings, headbands, baby doll clothes, and a little purse for Kaylee. It is so much fun and I can't wait to get some cute fabric and try to make Kaylee a Christmas dress!! Ill post pictures of my creations when I find my camera!!

Thanksgiving Festivities

2010-11-26T09:25:00.002-05:00

We kicked off our Thanksgiving celebrating last Friday at school...we had a schoolwide Thanksgiving Feast and it was so much fun!! Pastor T and the kitchen staff made a big traditioal thanksgiving dinner and all the kids invite their parents and siblings and we have a big feast. All the classes do different thanksgiving crafts and that is what the table are decorated with. All the teachers have to serve, so my mom and dad came to sit with Kaylee and her class. (Kyle's class did not participate) It was so much fun!! Kaylee made a little indian hat that she wore and she made a placemat with her hands and there was a little picture of her sitting at her spot that her teacher had made!! It turned out really nice and everyone really enjoyed it!!

Then yesteday on Thanksgivig day Johns family came over and celebrated with us. Rene' made all the food and brought it over. It couldnt have been any easier for us :) Everything was really good and we even had a honey baked ham, my favorite, Ive already had some this morning haha. After lunch we went outside and spent the rest of the afternoon putting up Christmas decorations. Well, John put them up and the rest of us sat around and watched!! Kaylee loved the christmas lights..she kept telling everyone "my daddy got these for me" lol. Kyle fell of his little riding car and got a big scrape on his forehead :( It was his first big bobo!! He is tough though..he barely even cried. After it got dark we came in for round 2 of food and some sweet potato pie. It was a really nice day and we all enjoyed ourselves!!

I can't believe thanksgiving is already over and we are quickly approaching Christmas..this is my favorite time of year and its flying by :) I have pictures from yesterday but Kyle misplaced my camera last night..so as soon as I find it I will add them to this post!!

Kucats, Lenons and Peers

2010-11-24T17:37:00.004-05:00

aka...kumcuats, lemons and pears lol..we have pear, lemon and kumcuat trees in our yard and Kaylee thinks its the coolest thing ever. She loves eating them and especially loves picking them. We had to tell her to please stop bringig kumcuats in the house because we were finding them everywhere. She had her toy kitchen filled with them and they were in every purse and backpack she owns haha. We have huge lemons that are great for lemonaide and the pears are awesome but are no longer in season!!

Since we moved being outside is the kids favorite thing to do. We play outside every day. Kyle even cries when we have to come in lol..I love that they like to be outside and the weather has been so nice lately!! Kyle makes me a little nervous because he is still a little unsteady when walking on uneven surfaces..but he is a tough little guy. He falls down and gets right back up and keeps going!!

Kaylee has been asking for a bike..Im not sure what sparked this idea because we have never mentioned riding bikes but she had it in her mind that she wanted a bike for christmas...so the other day a neighbor of ours (who always rides around looking for scraps that people are throwing away) came by and he had a bike..Kaylee wanted it but it was in pretty bad shape so he told her he would try to find her a bike!! The next day when I got home from work there were two little bikes sitting inside the gate..one was a dora bike and the other was a princess bike...her two favorite things!! The chain on the princsss bike was rusted off but other than that it was in perfect conditio..John said it would be easy to fix. The Dora one was more like a tricycle and it has a busted wheel which he also was able to fix..so Kaylee ended up with two new bikes and she could not be happier. She got on her Dora one for the first time to day and she cant quite reach the pedals good enough to make it move..but I pushed her around on it and she loved it. I think the princess one will be easier for her once we get a chain!! I loved seeing how happy it made her!!

Anything to get out of cleaning!!!

2010-11-16T19:14:00.002-05:00

Kaylee will do ANYTHING to get out of cleaning her playroom. Ever since we moved we have been trying to make it a point that Kaylee cleans her playroom each night before she goes to bed. She is fully capable of doing this on her own but she is not a big fan. She usually whines the whole time and wants me to help her..at first I would eventually cave in and do it for her because she would drag it out forever and its just easier for me to get it done quickly....but I know that is not teaching her so lately Ive been trying to make her do almost all of it on her own!! So a little while ago we told her to go out and clean her playroom so she could get a bath and go to bed and of course she proceeds with her normal whining about not being able to do it, she needs help and anything else she thinks might get her out of it...once she realizes that no one is coming to help her she starts picking up.. a few minutes later we go out to check her progress and she is fast asleep in the middle of her MESSY playroom!!! Looks like she has found a new tactic to get out of cleaning lol!!

Home with Sick Babies

2010-11-10T11:11:00.002-05:00

Today I am home from work with two sick babies so I figured while they are resting I can do a quick update!! I wish I was doing a better job about updating my blog...I love having it to look back on and remember the details about different things...I used to be much better about it and I know I am going to regret not documenting as much!! But anyways, like I said...both kids are sick with colds..they were both running fevers throughout the night so I decided it was best they didnt go to school today!! We are off school tomorrow for Veterans day so they should have plenty of time to rest and recover before we go back on Friday. John and I both have colds too..I think its the weather. One day it is freezing and the next day its hot. The cold weather came out of no where and I was not prepared for it at all!! I didnt realize that Kyle didnt have a jacket that fit so he had to wear one of Kaylees jackets and hats to school last week...I felt bad but he didnt mind :) (We went and got him a new hat and jacket that night haha)

We are all settled in our new house and we love it!! The kids love having a playroom again and they spend lots of time playing together in it!! They are starting to play better together now that Kyle is older. They do fight over toys all the time which gets annoying, but they enjoy eachothers company. If Kyle is taking a nap Kaylee will constantly ask where he is and if she can go and get him up because she wants to play with him. Kyle doesnt mind playing by himself but he thinks Kaylee is very funny so he likes when she is around. He is walking all over the place now and he is so proud of himself...yesterday he mastered walking down the small step to the playroom and he had the biggest smile on his face. He is so funny!! Kaylee is also very proud of him..whenever he walks across the room she claps and says.."look Bubbas walking"

Kaylee seems so grown up these days. She talks non-stop and amazes me with some of the things she comes up with. She still loves school and she is so proud of all of her work she does. They send all her papers from the week home on friday and before we can even get to the car she has her folder out of her backpack so she can show me everything she did. They are learning what sounds the letters make and I was suprised that she could actually remember them. She knows the sounds of the letters A, B, F, M, and Z. The letter B is her favorite and she is always walking around the house saying "B says buh" she loves finding things that start with the letter B. I love seeing her learn! Since we moved she has been responsible for keeping her playroom clean and that is NOT one of her favorite chores...she also has to put her and Kyles clothes in the hamper and throw the diapers in the trash for me..and she loves helping with those things. But when it comes to cleaning her playroom (which we do multiple times a day) she isnt a a big fan. She cries and tells me that she needs help or that Kyle made the mess not her..she pulls out every excuse she can think of. Sometimes she will even tell me she is sick lol. When we throw out her options or cleaning or going to bed she will usually get it done!! HAHA.

We are getting excited for the holidays...I am especially looking forward to this Christmas because both of the kids are old enough this year to enjoy it!! This is my favorite time of year by far...I love the cool weather, I love Christmas music and Christmas trees, I love everything about Christmas...I would start decorating now if John would let me haha!! I guess we have to get through Thanksgiving first!!

Pumpkin Cookies

2010-10-30T20:00:00.003-04:00

I cant believe Fall is already here..even though it sure doesnt feel like it outside :) We have been so busy lately and I havent had much time to update. We are finishing getting settled in our new home and are busy with school!! I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of October..where has the month gone. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before we know it. Everyone is doing well...both kids are loving school and I am so impressed by how much Kaylee is learning. She can recognize the letters B, K, F, Z and M and knows what sounds they make. She is learning to spell her name but hasnt quite got it yet. She can count to 14 and knows her colors and shapes. She is talking non-stop and she keeps us cracking up. Kyle is trying his best to walk. He will take 10 steps or so before he realizes that he can get to where he is going faster if he sits down and crawls. He is ALWAYS on the go. He is a pretty easy baby (I guess hes not much of a baby anymore) He is always into something but I guess thats a boy for you! The kids are loving our new house..I thought they might have trouble sleeping at first in a new place..but they have done fine!!

Tonight we made pumpkin cookies and Kaylee was so excited that I let her "help" me make them!! They were the pre-made cookies so all you had to do was take them out of the package and put them on the tray but she still thought it was pretty neat. I think she likes "making" them more than she liked eating them haha. Kyle doesnt eat much sweets but I let him have a cookie and he of course loved it lol. Here are a few pictures of our cookie baking. Pics of the house will be up soon!!

Trying out the black and white effect on my cameraI usually cant get her to smile..but she was so excited!!Kyle was loving his cookieSo serious

Kaylee, Kaylee, Kaylee

2010-09-25T11:08:00.003-04:00

This girl is keeping me busy these days. She is constantly getting into things and thinking of something new to try..she is one busy little girl!! John and I were talking this morning about how she can't be left unattended for even a second because she will be into something. She loves getting into makeup, lotion, wipes, shampoo and perfume and anything of that nature. She LOVES to make messes but she HATES to clean up haha. She keeps me laughing (most of the time) at the things she comes up with and I can honestly say that at the end of the day I am exausted from trying to keep up with her lol.

The other day she wanted to play with flash cards in her room so I told her she could play with them but she had to clean them up all by herself if I let her play with them...so of course she strows them everywhere and when I tell her its time to clean them up she tells me I need to help her because she is "too wittle". I told her if she was big enough to make the mess she was plenty big enough to clean it up.

Thursday she was in rare form...she was into everything...I mean everything..when I got home from work my mom said she had been a handful all day and that she had colored on the wall. After that I was changing Kyles diaper and she got my makeup out of my purse and went in the bathroom and put mascara all over her face..when I found her she said "look mommy Im pretty". A little later I put her and Kyle down for a nap and I went back to check on them and she had gotten into diaper rash cream...apparantly she thought it was lotion and she had put it all over her face, arms and legs..and of course it was all in her bed..so I got that cleaned up and put her back in bed. About 45 minutes later I went to check on them again.. she wasnt in her bed and she was no where to be found. I always put up the baby gate when they are taking a nap and close the door, because if not she will come out of her room and getting into who knows what. So I knew she had to be in there...I was looking under the bed and calling her and I finally opened the closet and there she was sitting in her toy box. She said "haha mommy Im so funny" I explained to her that it was not funny to hide from mommy and every time I call her she better drop what shes doing and run to me lol!! Shes is such a character these days. Im going to try and blog all the funny things she does and says because I know I will forget it all if I dont!!

Kyle's First Birthday

2010-09-23T17:50:00.002-04:00

Im a few days late, as usual, but Kyle turned 1 on Saturday. I can't believe it..no more babies in our house!! We had a little family party for him Saturday afternoon and he got some cool toys and some cute new clothes. His favorite part of the party was smashing his cake..he had no problems digging in and getting messy haha...he started to cry when I took it away and then he realized that there was still cake all over the tray so he just started licking that off lol.

I took him to his 1 year old appointment on Tuesday and he weighed 23 1/2 pounds. I dont remember how tall they said he was but they did say he was tall for his age. They said everything looked great except his iron was low so he has to start taking polyvisol. Kaylee had to take the same thing when she was a little younger that him and she got better within just a few months. He had to get 4 shots and he hasn't been his normal happy self since then. He has been running fever and not sleeping at night so I'm hoping that he will be back to normal soon.

He is a GREAT eater...It amazes me how much this kid can eat..we are trying to get him on only solid foods instead of baby food because when he eats baby food he doesn't get full unless he has 5-6 big jars per meal. He loves peanut butter and jelly and he loves fruit. He doesn't give me problems about eating veggies like Kaylee did at his age..so Im happy about that. He will eat pretty much anything I give him. He has 8 teeth now so he can chew pretty much anything!!

He isn't walking yet but boy is he a fast crawler. He stands and walks all around holding onto things and will stand by himself but he wont actually take steps. I think he could do it if he wanted to but he wont try because crawling is just faster...I don't think it will be long though!! He is such a sweet boy, I cant believe it has already been a year since he joined our family!!

Twinkle Toes

2010-09-18T13:20:00.004-04:00

I sure thought it would be a lot later in life that Kaylee started asking for something just because her friends had it lol...well I was wrong!! Last week she started telling me she was wanting something but I couldnt figure out for the life of me what she was saying. The next day we went to school and she pointed to a little girls shoes and said "Tinkel Toes"...I asked her if she was saying she wanted Twinkle Toes and she said "Yessss" So I just kinda laughed it off and said yea those are cute we will have to get some someday, thinking she would forget about it!! That afternoon that was all we talked about and I pulled them up online to see if she would recognize them and sure enough she did. I thought they were really cute but they were a lot more than we usually would spend on a pair of shoes for her...so I told her to ask her she'd have to ask her daddy when he got home from work. Sure enough as soon as he walked in she said "Daddy I want tinkle toes" so I showed him what they were and we told her she would have to be good for a lot of days to get twnlke toes. So last night John was headed to the store and Kaylee said "bye daddy you going to the store to get my tinkle toes" he kinda blew her off and said we will see. So he finally found some that were on sale and Kaylee was ecstatic lol..she wanted to wake her brother up to show him and then she wanted to wear them to bed. I finally pried her off them before bed and as soon as she woke up thismorning she brought be some socks and asked for her tinkle toes!!!
You cant tell from the picture but they have really bright lights all down the sides and in the toes!!

I think we've almost got it!!

2010-09-09T15:25:00.002-04:00

The potty training that is!! We finished the 3-day potty training system and things are going pretty good. At the end of day 3 Kaylee hadn't had a single accident all day. I was so proud of her. She continued to do good the next day but she had a rough time on Wednesday at school. She had 3 accidents while she was there because she refused to let her teacher take her to the potty. She said only her mommy can take her lol..so she ended up in a pull-up. She hasn't had any accidents today so I had a talk with her about letting her teacher take her to the bathroom and hopefully she will do better tomorrow at school. It has been so nice only having to change Kyles diapers. I am hoping she can get over her fear of going at school and we can be done with the pull-ups for good. She has learned that anytime she says she needs to go to the bathroom, no matter what we are doing, we drop it and run...so shes figured out that at naptime and bedtime if she keeps telling me she has to go potty she can stall for a little bit on her nap...haha!! She is such a little stinker :)

Potty Training day 2

2010-09-05T08:34:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a much better day than I thought it would be. Kaylee ended up only having 4 accidents all day and 2 of them weren't really accidents she just waited a little to long to go to the potty and had a few dribbles!! I am so proud of her. I was extremely hesitant to leave her in panties at bedtime but thats what the program said to do!! I was completly shocked when she woke up dry and was standing at the door thismorning telling me she needed to go potty!! Maybe she is really getting it this time :) She has had one accident thismorning and that was when she was sitting in her highchair playing with playdough so I think she was having so much fun she didn't realize she needed to go!! I am hoping today we have another successful day!!

Potty Training....AGAIN!!

2010-09-04T09:18:00.003-04:00

We have made a few attempts at potty training in the past few months and so far we have not been successful!! I know Kaylee is ready to be potty trained. She can't stand to be wet or to have a dirty diaper and she takes them off herself everytime she goes in them!! So we are tying a new method starting today!! We are using the "3 day potty training" system e-book by Lora Jenson!! I have had a lot of friends use this method with their children and have had great results!! Its a little scary because once you start you only use panties from then on out...even at naps and throughout the night!! So Im prepared with lots of panties and extra sheets!! The guide tells you that it should take 3 days and you should plan on staying home for 3 consecutive days and do nothing but work with the child on potty training...so since we are out of school on Monday we decided to start today!! We have been up for 2 1/2 hours and so far not a single accident. She has done all her buisness in the potty!! Im keeping my fingers crossed that she is going to get this. I will be so happy when I only have to change diapers for one kid!!Proud of herself because she went pee pee in the potty!!The pile of panties at the start of the day...hopefully we wont need all these!!
We are doing everything we can to stay busy while we work on our potty training skills...Kaylee loves play dough!!

Preschool

2010-09-03T19:32:00.002-04:00

Its been a while since my last post and things have been really busy around here. This week was the first week of preschool for the kids and they are doing great. They are doing MMO at our church and they go three days a week. I help out in the 3 year old class while they are in there classes and we are had a great first week. Summer was great but its nice to be back in a routine! I was sure Kyle would do fine in his class but I wasn't sure that Kaylee would like it because she isn't always to fond of going in the church nursery...but she is doing great. The first day she cried when I dropped her of but her teacher said she didn't cry for long and today she didn't even cry when I dropped her off. On Monday when I picked her up she said "mommy I love school" I was so happy to hear that!! I'm so glad she is able to have this opportunity because I know she is going to learn so much..she is really enjoying doing watercolors in her class and thats is what is keeping her wanting to go back lol. She also loves the playground of course. She has been a big girl and has not been using her binky at school and she actually has only needed it when she goes to bed. I am going to try just making her leave it in her bed and hopefully we can get rid of it all together soon!! I wish I would have gotten a picture of them on their first day but I forgot my camera...they both looked so cute with their little backpacks on and their luchboxes!! Kaylee loves wearing her "pack pack" haha. Kyle is doing great in his class also. Their are only 3 babies in his class so he gets lots of attention...he loves going on their daily walks..they have this big six seater stroller and his teacher walks them all over the place in it..they look so cute!! I am the teachers assistant in the 3 year old class and I am loving it..we have 13 kids in our class and its so neat to watch them learn new things and they say some of the funniest things lol...I am sure I will be posting lots about school this year and I will make sure I add some pictures of them with their cute little backpacks next week!!

The Piano

2010-07-30T10:26:00.003-04:00

Im sure I have posted in the past about the Piano that my dad bought for Kaylee right after her 1st birthday..well everyone always joked about him buying such a noisy gift and said I should let him keep it at his house for when the kids were there...haha well now that is exactly what has
happened!! Kaylee loves the piano and has always been very gentle and played relatively softly
on it...well the other day I was in my room folding laundry and t
he kids were in there room playing and I hear the piano...and Im not talking soft pretty music...this was loud BANGING!! I of course thought it was Kaylee and I immediately stopped what I was doing to go and get on to her for playing like that..when I opened the door..Kaylee was sitting there with a shocked look on her face listening to Kyle bang on the piano!!! This is his new favorite passtime haha..I try to get him to play softly but he just bangs and lagcxd, ughs lol..he got an early start thismorning..I heard him playing around 745 am..I bet my dad was wishing he had never bought such a wonderful gift!!

Publix

2010-07-30T10:04:00.002-04:00

I am not a huge fan of the grocery store...and I especially don't like going alone with the kids. But last week we planned to meet John at the store when he got off work..as luck would have it, I ended up getting there early and he had to work a little late so I was trying to entertain both kids while we waited for daddy!! Kaylee saw the car buggy and was determined she was going to ride in it..normally this wouldnt be a problem if John was with us, but it doesnt have a place for Kyle to sit. It is made for two children but I wasnt sure he was big enough..bur we tried it and they were adorable lol..we went to get a cookie for Kaylee from the bakery and the lady handed one to each of the kids...I guess she thought Kyle was older than he really was. But I let him have it and the kid scarfed the whole thing down before Kaylee had even had half of hers haha...I love that they are geting to the age now where they can do some of the same things. It is so cute to watch them interact with eachother!!!

Bath Time

2010-07-21T15:27:00.002-04:00

I have been trying to find Kyle a new bath seat for a while but the one I was looking for I couldn't find anywhere!! He He was getting unhappy laying in his baby bath and although he can sit just fine..he gets so slippery in the bath and he tries to climb out of the tub..so I needed some way to contain him!! I finally found what I was looking for at a consignment shop. It has a bar that goes in front that clips so that they can sit but not go anywhere. He is loving being able to sit and play in the bathtub and Im loving that I don't have to hold onto him the whole time! Kaylee loves to take a bath with her Bubba..she thinks its so funny to put bubbles in his hair..haha!! I am starting to enjoy bath time now instead of dread it!!

10 Months

2010-07-20T08:42:00.002-04:00

Sunday Kyle turned 10 months old...I can't believe he is so close to being a year old. No more babies around here!! Kyle is changing so much so fast. He is crawling all over the place and pulling up on everything!! He is absolutly FEARLESS!! He puts EVERYTHING in his mouth and will eat anything you give him!! He is really starting to enjoy playing with toys now and will sit in his room and entertain himself. Of course Kaylee thinks every toy in the house belongs to her so...the sibling rivalry has begun haha!! I am working on getting Kyle transitioned to solid foods..he has 4 teeth so I have been introducing more and more new things and so far he hasn't turned anything down. I love the convience of the baby food but he is getting to where he is too impatient for it and he makes a HUGE mess with it. Yesterday he had his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and he ate it all..he loved it!! I am trying to get him weaned from his bottle..I hate bottles and I weaned Kaylee cold turkey at 9 months. So yesterday I decided to do the same thing with him...he hasn't had a bottle since early yesterday morning. I was a little worried how he would do going to sleep last night but he did fine...so I am pretty sure he is done with them. I haven't gotten rid of them yet just in case..but I think he is going to do fine!! I am so sad my babies are growing up so fast..but happy to see them learning and accomplishing new things. Excited to see what this next month will bring

Silly Bands

2010-07-12T19:48:00.002-04:00

I have seen so many kids lately with tons of these "silly bandz" and I thought about getting Kaylee some because she LOVES anything "pretty". I checked out the prices of these things and they are like $5 for a pack of them...so I decided she wouldn't be getting any haha. So the other day I was at Walmart and I found these...which are "Googly Bandz"!! They are exactly like the others except they are 12 for $1. I got her some and she was completly thrilled..she has been wearing them everywhere and even sharing them with all her friends :)

Naptime

2010-07-08T16:41:00.004-04:00

So im trying desperately to get my kids taking naps at the same time again..I miss it so much!! So yesterday I put them in their beds and came into my room and this is what I heard through the baby monitor:

Kaylee- "Bubba lay down"

Kyle- laughing

Kaylee- "Momma, bubba stand in bed"

Kyle- more laughing

Kaylee - "jump bubba jump"

haha..these kids are hilarious..they went on and on for at least an hour..I ended up getting Kaylee up because it just wasn't working out!! This is how I found them when I went to check on them.

Im not sure why Kaylee has her eyes closed..I think she thought she was in trouble or something..she thinks if she closes her eyes I can't see her haha

4th of July weekend

2010-07-07T09:28:00.007-04:00

I love holidays..especially holidays where my hubby has time of of work and we get to do fun stuff :) This 4th of July weekend was lots of fun. We had lots of time to relax and just enjoy being together and with friends. Friday night John made some really good cheddar bacon burgers then we hung out in the hottub. Saturday we hung around the house all day and relaxed...anyone who knows me knows that I am not a big fan of staying in all day..but every now and then its nice to relax. That night my dad cooked us all a really good dinner...fried rice with sasuage, shrimp and peppers..it was so good. Thats the other thing I love about holidays..good food!! Sunday morning we went to church and then John and the kids and I went to Panera for luch then shopped around walmart. Sunday night we had another yummy dinner then John did some fireworks for Kaylee..she loved them..she really loved that she was allowed to hold a sparkler haha..we were able to sit in the driveway and see lots of big fireworks, its nice to be able to see them from home and not have to fight the crowds downtown or at the beach!! On Monday we took the kids out to Hugenot to play at the beach with our great friends the Slegers...we spent most of the day out there and had a blast!! Kaylee waiting patiently for the fireworks!!Kaylee and Daddy doing sparklersThe night wouldn't be complete if there were no tears!! She was upset because John took her sparkler because she was trying to touch it to her face hahaShe loved doing it by herselfJordan and Taylor doing sparklersKaylee and MamiClapping for Daddys fireworksKaylee and Uncle PhilMommy and KayleeMom and Dad

Kaylee eating her burger daddy made her
Kyle in his tent at the beach getting ready for his nap
Jordan came to the beach with us and he got stuck digging in the sand with the kids :)

Kaylee collecting shells in her bucket

Doctor Visit

2010-07-05T19:33:00.004-04:00

This was while we were getting ready to go to the doctor..Kaylee always says she wants to hold "it" meaning her brother..haha

Kyle did pretty good. He was supposed to get shots but since he still had an ear infection in his right ear they weren't able to give them to him. They put him on a different antibiotic for ten more days and hopefully that will knock it out. He weighs right at 20 pounds...he is in the 50th percentile for weight, 75th percentile for height, and they said his head is off the charts..lol..poor boy has a big head :) The only time he cried was when the male nurse was messing with him..he is usually fine with strangers but he wasn't a big fan of this particular gentleman. Other than that he was a champ and let them do what they needed to do. Now his sister on the other hand.....Notice the swollen eyes??? Well thats because she cried pretty much the entire time we were there...which was about an hour and a half. She was fine in the waiting room but as soon as she went back it was all over. She didn't want them to touch her, look at her or even talk to her...typical Kaylee..haha. She screamed when they tried to put her on the scale and had an absolute fit when they tried to measure her head circumference...the nurse finally gave up and I had to do it. I felt really bad for her because she was really scared but she was being extremely overdramatic. She screamed and kicked the doctor when she had to check her ears and throat and banged her head against the wall when they told her to stand there so they could get her height...they tried bribing her with candy and lolipops but nothing was working..I finally just had to hold her down. She weighs 27 pounds and is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. She had to get one shot and they gave me a labslip and said she needed to have her two year old bloodwork done..boy am I sure not looking forward to that!!As soon as we put them in the car they were both out..she screamed so hard she wore herself out. Later that afternoon after they had naps and were in better moods...we went to the park!

She always wants to climb on this thing but I never let her so she was extremely excited I let her go all the way to the top!!

Kyle was in a great mood!!

They were both exausted at this point and were just laying down on the slides!!!

1st Beach Trip

2010-06-28T21:31:00.003-04:00

Everyone is so shocked when I say that I have never taken my kids to the beach...in fact I havent been to the beach since John and I were dating...well up until today that is!! I have been wanting to go forever but John isnt a big fan of the beach..he doesnt like to get in the water and he hates the sand..he would much rather go to the pool. I was always nervous to take them by myself because there are so many people there and you have to take so much stuff..especially when you are taking a smile child like Kyle...but I wanted to go really bad and my friends have been talking about it for a while so today we broke down and went. We had a BLAST!! It was a lot of stuff to take..and we brought home TONS of sand..but it was really fun. Kyle didnt fuss at all and he even took a little nap in his tent. Kaylee loved to play in the water with me and she enjoyed building castles in the sand..she kept saying that she wanted to build candles..haha!! I wasn't sure if she would like the water or be scared but as soon as she realized that her buddies Isaac, Noah and Michael liked the water she immediately wanted to join them. Even Kyle and Cambree liked to splash around in the water..the water was freezing so we only got in to about our ankles lol...but the kids had a really good time and so did I. We ended up going to the beach on base since we have a friend who lives on base and was able to get us in. That was nice because it is a lot less crowded than Jax beach!! We packed a lunch and lots of toys and spent all morning there. I am so glad that now we have done it and it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. We will definently be spending lots of time there this summer :)He loved the sand...he had it all over him when we left...evem after his bath I could still feel sand on him haha
We found this neat little tent that folds up into a little bag and pops open when you need it. It is perfect for Kyle at the beach..he even took a nap in it for a little bit!!Kaylee loved it so muchKyle was watching the birds

Zoo Days

2010-06-28T21:04:00.006-04:00

We have been going to the zoo once a week for the past couple weeks with friends who have passes...its so nice to go for a few hours as soon as they open before it gets really hot. The kids LOVE it and its a great way for them to burn off some energy!! They really like the water park..Kaylee didnt really care for it up until recently because she isnt a huge fan of getting water in her face...but now that doesnt stop her..she would play in there all day. Kyle loves it too...he crawls all over the place and likes to splash around in the water. Kaylee is really big into animals now and loves to tell you what noise each animal makes...Im really impressed with how many she knows. Her favorite part of the zoo is petting the goats...or "doats" as she would call them...she would spend the entire time in the goat exhibit if I would let her..she usually puts a brush on each hand and just loves all over them. Its really sweet to watch her!! There is also a really cool play ground there that I never knew they had. It has big slides and ropes to climb on and lots of other neat things...Kaylee loves to climb around in it with her friends!! I think we have decided to make it a weekly thing since the kids just love it so much!! Here are some pictures from our trip this past Friday.I love when my babies are sweet to eachother!!!
Kyle and Mommy at the water parkKaylee hugging the goats :)Kaylee, Kyle and Michael playing in the splash parkKaylee trying to climb up the ropessharing mommys drink..it gets soo hot out thereShe loves to use the little brushes to pet the goatsRiding on the manateeHanging out in the netShe loves to play on the stairs at the playgroundKaylee playing on the animalsKyle and Cami Kyle is so happy to be outsideKyle is perfectly content reding around in his stroller playing with his toys...Im so thankful for this because Kaylee was not a stroller baby!! It makes it much easier to do outings with him!!

Kyle

2010-06-28T21:01:00.002-04:00

I can never seem to capture cute pictures of Kaylee..I guess its her age..shes ALWAYS on the go!! But Kyle will smile for the camera any day...

Sick Boy

2010-06-21T13:45:00.002-04:00

The past few days Kyle hasn't really been acting himself so I thought maybe his teeth were bothering him. So thismorning he got up around 6am and was extremely fussy!! Those who know him know that he is rarely ever fussy!! especially if he is with me. He is definently a mommas boy!! I noticed that he had some blood in his ear and he just looked like he didnt feel good so off to the doctor we went!! My poor boy has a terrible infection in his right ear and a slight ear infection in his left ear!! He is such a good baby..even when he isnt feeling good he will still give that big smile to anyone that talks to him!! The doctor put him on an antibiotic and said he should start feeling better within a couple of days!! Poor little guy :(

Fathers Day

2010-06-21T13:28:00.002-04:00

We had a great time yesterday hanging out as a family on Fathers Day!! We went to church, then headed to lunch at Sticky Fingers with my family and my grandparents for lunch..I love their ribs!! Then we came home and relaxed while the kids napped..then went to McDonalds for dinner and then the park. We had such a fun time just being with eachother. Kaylee loves the park so much and she especially loves when John and both take her!! We played at the park until almost 7:00 and her and Kyle were worn out!! They both passed out on the way home!! John and I finished the evening watching the movie When In Rome!! It was such a nice day.

New Doo!!

2010-06-21T13:00:00.002-04:00

Well we finally decided to break down and shave off Kyles crazy fuzz..lol..We had been debating doing it for a while and we finally got tired of people always talking about his hair. John does his weekly shave every Friday so this week Bubba got in on the action. He loved getting it shaved..he sat there patiently with a big smile on his face!! He looks so adorable with a shaved head. He looks like a toddler now instead of a baby!! I love it!!
BEFOREAFTER

Kaylee Update

2010-06-18T13:10:00.002-04:00

I thought since I updated on what Kyle was doing these days I might as well do the same for Kaylee. She is almost 27 months old now..although she thinks shes about 16. She is miss independent and likes to do everything herself. She loves to swim and she is doing really well with it. We get in the pool almost everyday. She also loves to color..she usually sits in my bed to color and she would sit there and do it for hours if I would let her...I usually limit her coloring time to only when I can be right there with her because she has proven that she isnt quite ready to be turned loose with the crayons just yet (aka coloring on the walls and floor) She is loving spending time at the park..we were going a few times a week but it is soo hot now that we hae had to either go early in the morning or late afernoon which messus up our dinner and bedtime routine, so we havent been able to go as much!! She loves spending time with her friends..her best friends and Jonathan and Mylee and Isaac and Noah. We usually try to have playdates with them every week. Monday we went to the zoo with Monica and the kids and Kaylee had a lot of fun. She loves animals and wants to touch everything. She really likes to do the water park but it was too crowded because they were having a special event that day..so we are going to go again soon so she can play there. We are trying again with the potty training. This will be the third try. Im feeling more confident this time that she will get it because she always tells me when she goes in her pants and she doesnt like being in a wet diaper. We are only on day 2..but she is doing really well...she is going on the potty a lot more times than in her pants...so thats a start!! She went through a little biting phase last week, she bit her brother twice and also bit me once and a friend...she got in big trouble every time she bit and I also made her tell her daddy when he got home each day and he talked with her...so I think we might have broken her of it..she hasnt done it since!! She is starting to love going to church to her class..up until recently she would cry if you even mentioned taking her to her class..but lately she has been asking to go and happily waving goodbye when I leave. I am so thankful for this..I hated leaving her there screaming (even though she always stopped as soon as I left) So thats pretty much all Kaylee is up to these days...just a kid enjoying her summer!!

9 Months old

2010-06-18T08:46:00.004-04:00

I havent been as good as updating each month with Kyle as I was with Kaylee..I guess its a second baby thing haha. But today he is 9 months old. He has changed so much within the last month. He has always been a lot more laid back than Kaylee was and she started doing things a ot sooner than he did...but slowly but surely he starts trying new things. He only has two teeth so far. (I think Kaylee had about 6 at his age) but it doesnt stop him at all from munching on practically anything we have. The other day Kaylee was eating a hamburger and I looked away for a second and she started screaming...he had grabbed her whole hamburger and was trying to eat it. lol. He is finally sitting up now for long periods of time...I thought the boy was never going to sit...and he can also go from laying down to sitting up. Its so cute to watch him. He doesn't crawl normal..he does a sort of army crawl..but he is fast. He doesn't want to be held anymore..he just constantly wants to go go go!! He is also a screamer..not crying..but just screaming to hear his voice...and its loud. I am trying to break him of it because he of course does it at the most inconvenient times. He is a happy baby and loves everyone..he has the biggest smile I have ever seen. You can even make him smile while he is crying haha. He has extremely crazy looking hair and John and I have been debating shaving it for a while now because everywhere we go people are always talking about his fuzzy hair. He is a terrible sleeper..he wakes up at least twice every night..I should let him cry it out for a few nights like I did Kaylee..but its just easier to go in and give him a bottle or binky instead of letting him cry and wake her up. He got his first spankings a couple weeks ago (well if you want to call a pop on the hand a spanking lol) because he likes to mess with the buttons on the cable box at my parents house. I would tell him no and he would give me this big smile and do it anyways..so I kept popping his hand and FINALLY he decided he would stop touching it...this is now a daily battle :) Overall he is such a sweet little guy and I wouldnt change a thing about him (ok maybe his hair) but other than that he is just awesome and I can't wait until he gets a little older and I can tell more about what his personality is going to be like!!

My Babies

2010-06-08T14:08:00.002-04:00

I love these little guys more than life itself....they are especially sweet when they are all tuckered out!!

Biter Biscuits

2010-06-08T14:01:00.005-04:00

I gave Kyle a biter iscuit for the first time the other day and as soon as I took th picture of him when he was finished I immediately thought back to when I gave Kaylee her first biter biscuit...I now remember why I am not a huge fan of the things LOL
Kyle age 8 1/2 monthsKaylee age 7 1/2 months

The Park

2010-06-08T13:39:00.003-04:00

Sine my dad works from home a lot and he is on calls a lot I try to get the kids out of the house as much as possible so they aren't being loud while he is trying to work. There is a really nice park right up the road from us, Ed Austin Park..and we have been going a few days a week. Last week we even had a picnic at the park with Tracy DeLaCruz and her kids. Kaylee loves the park..and she is a lot braver than I thought she would be...she has always loved to swing but now she runs all over the playground and is not afraid to climb to the top of the biggest slide and come down all by herself. Most days the first thing that comes out of her mouth when she wakes up is that she wants to go to the park haha..she loves to meet new friends at the park and she even bribed a litle boy to share his skittles with her the other day haha!! Kyle also likes the park...he enjoys swinging and he likes to watch the other kids play.

My little fish

2010-06-08T13:09:00.005-04:00

Before we moved to my mom and dads house Kaylee wasn't a real big swimmer. She liked to sit on the side of the pool and ut her feet in, but she didnt have much interest in getting in. She didnt even really like to get in if you were holding her...but that has all changed now!! The first week we were here she was the same way..she would get in on the stairs and put her feet in but she didnt want anyone to hold her and she definently didnt want to swim by herself. That weekend, the Slegers were over helping us move and the kids al gotin the pool..as soon as Kaylee realized that her best buddy Isaac could swim and that he was fine..it was all over. She hasnt stopped swimming since. She started out swimming with a life vest type thing and now she uses water-wings and she does great with them. She swims all over the pool by herself an even jumps in off the side. I am so glad she isnt afraid of the pool anymore..we have had such a great time hanging out by the pool!! Kyle has liked the pool from the time we started putting him in it. He is our little fish..he loves to just float all over the pool in his little froggy float and soak up the sun!!

Me and the kiddos in the pool..my mom took the pic and she cut my head off hahaMommy and KayleeMommy and BubbaMy big girlIm not sure what she was doing

Tree Hill

2010-06-08T10:21:00.005-04:00

Last week, the kids and I went with Monica and her kiddos to Tree Hill. Apparantly the place has been around forever but none of us had ever been there. It was a really neat place. They have a little museum type thing that has replicas of different habitats and they have a room with reptiles. Kaylee wanted to touch all the animals...even the frogs. She definently doesn't get that from me!! Thank goodness the only animals you were allowed to touch was goats!! Kaylee and Isaac loved the goats..Noah wasn't to sure about them :) They also had a really neat butterfly room that you could walk around in. The kids loved that but they didnt understand why they couldn't touch them. We walked on one of the trails but there were lots of spiders (Monica is deathly afraid of spiders) so we didnt go too far into the trail..we decided we would wait until John and Jay go back with us and they can knock all the spider webs out of our way..haha!! It wasa really neat place and the kids really enjoyed it. We decided next time we will pack a picnic for the kids and make a day of it!!
Isaac, Noah and Kaylee in the reptile roomKyle and Cambree chit-chatting..hahaIt was soo hotKaylee showing off her butterfly necklaceComing out of the butterfly roomPretty girl CambreeNoah loved the snakesIsaac and Noah with the bear...Kaylee was afraid to stand up there with themPretty KayleeIsaac and Kaylee with the goatsKaylee called them "doats"They were holding hands...so cuteBubba really enjoyed his crackers..can you tell!

My Birthday

2010-04-28T09:03:00.005-04:00

Last week I turned 22 and I had a really good time celebrating!! Thursday was my actual birthday and my day started off with a new car...Ill do another post about that..then my mom brought me lunch and a gift, then later my mother-in-law and my grandparents came by to give me a gift!! That night John took us to Chuck-E-Cheese to eat pizza and play games...the playing games was more for Kaylee but I didnt mind her having a little fun on my birthday haha!! Then Friday I went shopping for a new outfit with Monica and Jessica and all the kids (6 kids...that was definently an adventure) then that night John and I and our friends Jay and Monica and Jessica went to PF Changs for dinner then we went to Whiskey River for a little fun and Farryn met us there!! We had so much fun..I got to ride an electronic bull for the first time which was really fun!! A big thanks to Katelyn who gave up going out with us so she could stay home and watch my kiddos :) Overall I had a really great birthday and I am so thankful to everyone that made it special!!John and Jay at Whiskey RiverMe, Jessica and FarrynWe ran into Drew at Whiskey River so he hung out with us!!

Birthday Kisses

7 months Old

2010-04-20T20:06:00.002-04:00

Kyle is 7 months old now and he is finally mobile...he isnt crawling yet but he is rolling all over the place and can get anywhere he wants!! He is such a sweet boy...I just love him so much :) He still isnt sitting up, but his dr said its nothing to worry about. He would probably be able to sit if he wasnt so interested in chewing on his feet all the time which makes him tumble over HAHA!!! He still doesnt sleep all night..but it doesn't really bother me like it did with Kaylee..I just calmly get up and get him a bottle and go back to bed!! I know I should probably not let him eat in the middle of the night and just let him cry it out like I did with Kaylee...but it just breaks my heart to hear him cry because he is always so happy...that is as long as his mommy is around!! John kept them the other night while I went out to dinner with some friends and he cried the whole time!!! He is just not used to being away from me and as long as he is with me he is happy as can be. I dont even have to be holding him he just has to know that I am around!! Kyle is my little swimmer...Kaylee didnt like to get in the pool much when she was little and she is just now getting to the point where she wants to get in but she is still not so sure about it!!! But Kyle loves the pool...we got him this little baby float with a little shade on it and he loves to float around the pool...he doesn't even seem to mind that its still quite chilly lol!! I think we are going to have so much fun this summer with the kids being outside and doing fun smmer activities!!