"picnic" take two

oh, glorious days like these......sigh! this weather has definitely lifted the "funk" cloud over our household (well, at least for me.) earlier this year i took both the girls on a picnic (the one where kylee had to pee in a bush), we had such a good time i thought we'd try it again. but this time i made sure kylee went to the bathroom before we left.

last time we went there, it was a little easier to contain lainey....she could only lay there. now.......i can't keep her in one spot. she loves being outside, and she loves walking everywhere.

sweet....

kylee kept throwing grass at alaina, and she thought it was hilarious. finally, i got a smile.

telling secrets....well, not really. she's actually coughing. poor thing can't get rid of it.

until next time.......

birthday party

my birthday girls. kylee had a great time and couldn't wait to dig into the present opening. and alaina was just interested in walking around. first birthdays are always so funny. you try to make a big hoorah....the cake, the balloons and the party hats, but do they realize what is even going on? heck no! they just meander around wondering why all these people are in there house. and why in heck everyone is singing and clapping. but having two birthdays all in one day you have the excuse for the fun cake, balloons....all the hoopla, but no hats. there is no way alaina would keep a hat on. the little stinker wasn't even the slightest bit interested in her cake. i remember kylee didn't exactly dive into it either, but once she got a taste she had a great time making a mess. not our little princess. she wouldn't eat it unless it was given to her on a fork. she is so funny! i should be thanking my lucky stars that she doesn't like to be messy, but i was a little disappointed...no fun chocolate, all over the face pictures. oh well.

it was nice having everyone over. thanks guys for sharing the afternoon celebrating with us. and thanks for eating the cupcakes....i had to get those out of the house. too yummy!

side by side

this just made my day yesterday. after picking kylee up from school we made our weekly trip to sam's club to get milk. i really think alaina enjoyed having kylee sit right next to her. shortly after entering the store alaina was leaning in to kylee, laying her head on her shoulder. it was the sweetest thing. when i told kylee alaina was giving her "luv's", kylee embraced it. she put her arm around her and gave her a big hug and kiss. it was awesome! i am so glad that you are both able to show your love for one another this way. i just love moments like these. the check out gal was getting the biggest kick out of the two of them sharing popcorn. it was pretty cute.

and as promised......the shoes. fashion statement of the week. i absolutely love them. i think they are hilarious!

fun-filled birthday

first, breakfast in bed....a stack of pancakes with candles (she burned her hair blowing them out.) candles in bed, maybe not a good idea?

then, party at school. being the center of attention, what more could you ask for. i think i may have had more fun being there then she did (no way, she loves school). i had a ball being there, watching her in one of her favorite surroundings. i loved being able to see what she does at school....and taking pictures of course.

and if you look closely you'll see that her hair is a little shorter than before. after school we made it over to see sarah for a quick and much needed hair cut. we're not ready to grow her hair out yet....she looks so cute with it short....not to mention, she looks more like she is 4!

then at last, the long awaited and much anticipated trip to chuck-e-cheese! she had a great time....loved the slide (the one thing that didn't take tokens.....awesome!). she got the coolest shoes from aunt d......1970's shiny silver, platform heels....real hot!!! she wears them all the time. i'll be posting a picture of those lovely things soon, they are hilarious.

thanks my sweet kylee for having a birthday. it was so much fun celebrating with you. i hope you had a wonderful time. love you soooooooooooo much!

i can't believe you're 4!

you are breathtaking! the moment you entered this world you took my breath away. i will never forget that day as long as i live (march 1, 2003). so beautiful, so sereal.....amazing. i never knew that in four years a little person such as yourself could bring so much love, joy, tears, and laughter to our lives.

you have such a strong, sweet spirit. you get your competitiveness from your daddy, your nosiness from me and your extravertedness from god knows where....it sure didn't come from us. you are a social butterfly (okay, you must have got that from ohie....the little party girl). you love people....heck, everywhere we go you invite yourself over to other peoples houses. i remember when you were just learning how to have conversations with people, we were at the check out line at walmart and you were inviting the little girl in front of us over to our house to play. and at your three year old check up when dr. rita asked you if you would go with someone if they offered you candy you said, "yeah!"

my sweet kylee, you have brightened many 'a' days for us, and challenged many as well. we wouldn't change a single moment. you make me want to "sing in the rain." i love you so much, i don't tell you or show you enough. you are an awesome little girl.....God definitely knew what he was doing when he made you. happy birthday darling!!!! xxox00

(i can't wait for chuck-e-cheese tonight!!!! yippeeeeeee........)

also, more pictures on flickr. (for those of you who don't know this, if you click on the blue highlighted word flickr....it will take you to a website where i post some of my pictures.)

the "great" mall

okay, they call it the "great mall," but is it really that great? it's really a joke of a mall, but i must say, it is a great place to take the kids for a little play time. today i met up with my cousin christa and her kiddos and my aunt angie. the kids had a good time running around, tattle telling, pouting, and watching t.v. it was funny watching them interact with one another. the pictures here are of all of them gathered around some little girls coloring book...all coloring (even alaina's trying to get in on the action.)

alaina had the best time going back and forth through this little tunnel. she thought it was pretty great. getting there early was definitely a bonus. i must say that one of the cutest moments that i caught a glimpse of was when kylee was lying under the bridge and alaina came up next to her and laid her head on kylee's leg. kylee started rubbing her and and talking to her (sweet kylee). they actually stayed there like that for a little while. that stole my heart because that stuff DOES NOT happen around the house. kylee typically won't let alaina touch her. thank you God for allowing me to catch a glimpse. and thank you angie and christa for inviting us to tag along. we had a good time. it was nice taking the "aldi's" run together too! i love that place....and the dollar tree.

KU

trying to be creative........alan doesn't like this one, but i think it's kinda cool! as a "thank you" to alan for helping me with the wedding last weekend i got tickets to the KU game yesterday. (thank you so much brian for making a few phone calls) one of our three dates in six months...consisting of a red sox game, going to the mall and now a KU game...so much fun. i wish they were a little more frequent. one of these days, huh? we had a great time, both wishing we would have attended KU ourselves. maybe we'll just relive through the girls.....rock chawk!

as for this little squirt...i can't believe that she is 11 months old. holy moly! walking everywhere, drinking from a sipee cup, eating everything, clapping, waving, (even giving high fives...kinda) and teething like crazy. what was life like without you? not as busy that is for sure, but not quite as sweet (sweet, but now sweeter). you are so much fun and so much fun to look at. i really do love just looking at you. your big smile and your big front teeth make me laugh.....man you have personality!!!! you really are so much fun and your daddy and i love you so much. you have added a new dimension to our lives that we couldn't live without. you are awesome!!!

whew...

i am so glad you can't see all the zits on my chin in this picture (they are everywhere...not kiddin'). i've been a little stressed preparing for the my first formal wedding shoot. but now it is all over....whew!

i can't say it enough today.....God is so good! i just finished downloading all the pictures from today....1100 shots i might add, and they turned out great. my prayer this morning before it all began was that he would breathe life into these pictures, that he would give me the ability to capture the heart of the moment. i believe he did just that. thanks be to God, and to all you my loved ones who prayed for me and this day and encouraged me in so many ways. so, i would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. i am forever grateful, words cannot express. and thank you so much dad, for watching the girls. i really appreciate it (and for the gallon of milk too!)

and to my husband, a huge thanks for sacrificing your day (and watching the KU game) to be with me. i know you don't feel like you did much, but let me tell you, just your presence meant more to me than carrying around my tripod. thank you, i love you!

ps. donna, i just wanted to tell you that you looked very pretty... i liked this picture of the two of us. i'm also glad you were there to cheer me on!

boxed up!

she may look boxed up, but not really. she is on the move! she is walking everywhere.....all by herself. it is so funny to turn around and see this little stiff legged girl coming at you. the newest thing she has learned to do in the last couple of days is "clap." now that is cute. when she was doing it yesterday her hands would miss each other and hit her face, but today....she got it! and man, is she excited about it. all i have to do is look at her and she gives me the goofiest grin and starts clapping. it is so cute! don't babies typically learn how to clap before they walk?

the sibling rivalry has officially begun. i didn't know that at 10 months old alaina would already know that in order to get on mommies lap too, is to push and pull at kylee. kylee has been all about mom lately so every chance she gets she is in my lap.....well, alaina doesn't like that so much. she wants to be there too, so she comes over, starts whining and then starts to grab and push at kylee, trying to knock her off my lap. what a little stinker! so when i stay it's time to "share mommy" and they both have a half of my lap...kylee has to put her leg a little further onto alaina's side and gradually inches her way in alaina's space....hmmmmm...what to do? it's only the beginning right? this is going to be so much fun. i wish i knew what to do. pray!

i didn't have any good pictures of kylee in the box, but she was having fun with it too. she asked to play with it later that night and alan told her that she could and we'd box her up and ship her off to africa...she didn't think that was too funny. he kept randomly throwing out different destinations, none of them she liked, not until he mentioned new mexico. she just stood there with this funny look on her face like she was really considering it. today at lunch she asked me if we were going to send her to new mexico (she was ready to do it). she wanted to see papa and ohie!

i wonder what you're thinkin'

my dear sweet kylee.....i really do wonder what you are thinking right now. not to pour my soul out right now, but things have been crazy around her lately, or should i say "i" have been crazy lately. i have been on this medication that is making me absolutely NUTS! i am getting off of it in a week and a half (but i have to see it through), hopefully things will calm down then. needless to say, the kids (and my poor dear husband)....especially kylee, have received the brunt of my irritability. so until i can get off this crazy crap i apologize ten thousand times. i love you so much, you have no idea.

i let kylee miss her nap the other day so we could spend some one on one time together and this is one of the pictures i took. (there are more on flickr....so check 'em out)

little over ten

we are now 10 months old....almost 10 1/2 now. as you can see, she has a cold. i forgot how hard these few months before turning one are (at least they were for kylee, and seem to be the same for alaina.) between getting teeth, the frustration of moving around , not being able to communicate and the common cold these last few months seem to be a bit of a struggle. she can walk a short distance, when she wants to. in the last couple of days she has learned to "wave." it is so cute. she was lying on my lap last night waving at alan, and she wouldn't stop until he waved back...then a few seconds later she would do it again. this went on for fifteen minutes or so. she is also doing fairly well at feeding herself most table foods, except vegetables of course. she is even drinking most of her formula and water from a sippee cup. she is down to just her night time bottle. i can't wait to pack the bottles away for good....and formula, yuck! Vitamin D milk here we come!!! her favorite time of day is the evening. at least that is when she is at her happiest. i think it's because she has everyone together. after dinner i just lay on the floor and let both girls just crawl all over me. alaina thinks it is so much fun. back and forth, back and forth.....

though times are a little tough right now, i wouldn't change things. i am absolutely in love with this little girl (both my girls...kylee.) alaina, i am so thankful for all your sweetness. you are a true delight!

oh snowy days...

you can't beat an afternoon with a sweet little girl, making snowmen and snow angels. and afterwards.....hot chocolate, of course! if you can believe it this is the first snowman we have made (it's probably the first one i have made in twenty years.....i can't believe i can actually say "twenty years," and leaving a few to spare, it feels weird.) i wasn't prepared when we went outside, so we don't have a hat, "muffins" (mittens), or coal for eyes. we improvised with what we had outside (except for the carrot. alan gave us that one). the bark for eyes...they look more like eyelashes. pretty creative i thought!


poor alaina stuck inside. i didn't have anything to keep her dry...because she would've had to sit in the snow. she looked so sad in the window. i really did feel bad for her. this may sound crazy, but i actually thought about wrapping her with a trash

bags, but thought better....plastic bags...babies, hmmm not a good combination. she'll have next year, unless anyone has an extra snow suit lying around? i can't wait to do this with the both of them, and i can watch them make the snowman...instead of making it myself:)

popcorn anyone?

the popcorn in long gone, but these two are cozied up on the floor watching a movie (i am obviously writing this...snuggled in with my heating blanket.) about six or seven months ago we decided that it would be fun to have our own little movie night with kylee. about once a month we pick a night and a movie...pop some popcorn aka "pa-corn" (maybe even make cookies) gather our blankets and pillows and have "movie night." kylee absolutely loves it! i think she gets more excited about staying up and eating popcorn and cookies.

tonight it is snowing like crazy, what better way to spend the night, than snuggling in together.....hmmm, i can't think of anything better...gotta go.

dandelion

our little electric dandelion! the longer her hair gets the funnier it looks. alan gets the biggest kick out of doing this...he used to do it to me when we were dating (i just loved it, ha, ha....luckily kylee doesn't mind. well, most of the time.)

ps. ricky and lucy the fish were laid to rest this afternoon....floating in the olathe sewer system that is (they lived 7 days longer than larry). kylee had the honors of flushing the toilet. a lot less traumatic than the garbage disposal! she's coping very well :) no more pet fish for a while.

little legs

for the very first time last night alaina made her walking debut! she is one her way...and only nine months. well, almost ten, but it's more fun to say nine. she's taking after her daddy, who was also an early walker (i think it was nine months also.) it is so fun watching your kids take their first steps. the look on their faces when they are being cheered on.

it was a little hard for kylee though. not getting all the attention and all the praise is so hard. kylee, mommy understands. it is hard sitting on the sidelines and just being a spectator. but know this my dear, mommy and daddy love you so much and are so proud of all you do and have done. though you may sometimes (trust me, you are still in the lime light more often than you can imagine) be on the sidelines, we are still cheering you on too!

we are so lucky to have a house filled with all the noise and laughter (even tears) that you bring. we are so blessed by the two of you. i can't nor would i want to imagine a life without the two of you in it. love you bunches......

"toofs"

"i can see you mom!" i just had to post some pictures of alaina and her teeth. they've changed her look. no more gummy shots...she's all teeth. the two next to her front two are also almost through. she wants to bite everything. she almost bit through my lip a few weeks ago. she has started giving those baby open mouthed kisses. one day, low and behold, my sweet baby was giving me a kiss, when...."chomp." i didn't pull away fast enough, my lip was bleeding and numb for hours. man, that hurt! i was only expecting a little slobber, not blood! oh well, you live and learn right? now when she gives me a kiss, i give her a quick peck!

aren't these two so cute? alaina just loves hangin' out in kylee's room. this was right before nap time. speaking of giving kisses...this was the first time alaina gave kylee a real kiss (on command....man, i just sounded like i was talking about a dog!) it was the sweetest thing. oh yeah, no blood was drawn!

happy birthday gg

a short 18 hours

meet "larry." he joined our family yesterday. saturdays are often kylee and papooh's day together. he comes to get her and they go and run errands. kylee loves it...i think papooh does too! from these outings kylee has acquired a nickname, "gimme, gimme." obviously fitting, miss gimme comes home with a stuffed animal and....larry! (she was so excited.) technically, speaking she came home with larry, moe and curly. yes, three goldfish. but as my dad was transferring them to their bowl, moe and curly slide out of the bag into the sink, and "bye, bye" down the drain. oops! (we were all cracking up...except kylee.) kylee was a little confused as to what was actually happening. when she did realize that two of the fish had gone down the drain she was a little upset, but soon came to terms that only one was left.

within a few minutes alan remembered that there were two fish sitting in our drain...not good. so, alan decided to turn on the garbage disposal. oh, my goodness! kylee lost it. the poor girl was traumatized ( i would have been too. actually, i wasn't too thrilled with the garbage disposal idea....gross!) after a few hugs and a talk with daddy and she was okay.

this is what happened the next morning......
....i came downstairs to find this. kylee was sitting on the counter over the fish bowl, with loads of fish flakes sitting on the bottom. i said, "kylee, what did you do. you are going to kill him."

kylee replied, "he was hungry. i don't want to kill him. i made a mistake, i made a mistake."

it looked like a farmer trying to feed his pigs right before the slaughter. the poor thing had no chance. sure enough three hours later, larry was lying sideways at the bottom of the bowl.

so now we would like to introduce to you, ricky and lucy. this time, the water was treated and the fish food is on top of the refrigerator. we'll see how long they last. hopefully longer than 18 hours.

sisters

....just beautiful! simply stated. i ponder daily what will come of there relationship. being a sister is hard. i can honestly say that i have not done a very good job of being one myself. i just pray that in spite of your differences and sisterly challenges, that you will grow closer each and every day. you are both so beautiful inside and out. mommy loves you both so very much!

yum yum, cheerios

i guess kylee felt alaina needed a few more cheerios. i leave the room for one minute and come back to alaina shoveling handfuls of cheerios into her mouth. kylee, you are such a great helper and big sister! i'm sure that if alaina could speak she would say the same thing.



i just love this one, kylee prying alaina's mouth open to show us her new teeth. i can't believe she wasn't screaming...but hey, with a tray full of cheerios, what's there to complain about. she is pretty happy these days.....teeth are finally in, we're getting to try all kinds of yummy food (pancakes, fruit...even little pieces of chicken, she loves it!), and of course we can move almost anywhere we please. though, she is into everything. she is our quiet little sneak. i think we may have our hands full with you little girl. you are pretty honoree, but oh, so sweet. i wouldn't want you any other way! i love you girls so, so much!

new year

is christmas really over and the new year already here? i can't believe it. it comes and goes so amazingly fast. and instead of taking down the christmas tree and cleaning house, i want to blow big bubbles and be carefree. sound like fun? i'm sure kylee would be all for it!

merry christmas

i hope everyone had a merry christmas! i think the girls did! you know, each year the holidays seem to get a little more stressful, but more fun too. the kids make it great. alan and i were talking the other day and said that it would be boring if it were just us exchanging gifts in the morning. but watching the kids get all excited, and tearing into presents....that's what's so fun. and the older they get the better it gets. the best was this morning...i thought that it would be nice to pray before we started opening presents and thank God for all he has blessed us with, but before i could finish kylee had already begun to pray. she thanked jesus for all our presents and for sending his son. amazing! so simple, so truthful, so real! thank you sweetie for your strong, sweet spirit! and thank you all for all your prayers and support (and wonderful gifts....you are too much) , we feel them! we love you all. merry christmas!please mom, don't kill me for putting in this picture below, but i thought it was too cute not too!

yuck day

how could i not smile at these two cute faces. after a very sad day, these two beautiful girls have made it bearable. some of you already know, but for those who do not, we learned yesterday that we've lost the baby. i can't believe that i am writing right now...i guess i am just processing through some of this without actually talking to people. i'm not quite ready to do that...please, i hope everyone understands. but i must tell you that i do appreciate (so much) your thoughts, prayers, support and willingness to help out. it means the world to me. i just ask you for time. i've never really had to grieve in this way before....except for losing my dog, but that is in itself different.

ya know, i have thought before, that if something like this did ever happen to me, how would i feel? i never thought i would feel the way i do, that is for sure. i thought i would be more detached from the situation,when in fact it is quite the opposite. whether i was eleven weeks pregnant or thirty, this baby was a part of me, a part of this family and it is a deep loss. ever since i've found out i have not looked down at my belly, but up....up to jesus, because that's where he/she is. and that brings joyful tears to my eyes.

some of you may be wondering, "why the heck is she writing this on a blog site?" i'm not exactly sure either, but it is giving me a chance to share with the people who have been concerned what is going on in my head without actually talking about it. i love you all dearly, and again i am so grateful for you love and support. thank you so much.

awoken!

per donna's request, i have awoken from a deep sleep (in the blogging sense), but only for a short time i'm sure. do you see this picture? life has been a little like this....a crazy blur. between illness, teething, lack of naps (the kids), fit throwing and just being pregnant...do i have to say more? needless to say, i have taken a blogging break. i really don't mean to sound so glum, things are not bad, i think it's just a seasonal test!

kylee is getting excited for christmas, but i think she is enjoying more of the goodies that come with the holiday season....i.e. chex mix, chocolate covered pretzels, christmas cookies, and don't forget the fudge (my personal favorite.) although, i have to say, so far with this pregnancy i have been thoroughly enjoying salty foods more than the sweets like i did when i was pregnant with the girls. i'm all about corn dogs and cheddar and sour cream baked lays....whoa! i am going to enjoy myself for the next 12 weeks until i have to take my glucose test. we'll see where it goes from there. enough about my eating habits.

as for this little girl below me....i can't believe that nine months has already gone by. she is definitely a girl on the move. she crawls everywhere, but would probably rather be walking. she pushes her walker toy around very well. did i mention that she is into everything? kylee never minded to much about things on table tops, nor the cupboards...not this girl. everything she sees, she touches, pulls on and puts in her mouth. i think she has tried opening every drawer and cupboard at her level. the poor thing is also getting her front two teeth. her gums are so swollen, it makes me hurt for her. maybe we'll have two teeth cut through for Christmas?

okay, i promise to be little better at posting. maybe i need to get on my cousin and his wifes case...they haven't posted since august! i would like to see some new pictures of zak and see whats new in there world.;)

snot bubbles

my kids are sick and what do i do....yep, i get out the camera and take pictures of snot-bubbles! i just can't resist...especially now that my camera is finally back. but check out this action..... the bubble that gets

bigger..............

and bigger...........
what can i say, this was simply amazing. i have never seen anything like it. it didn't pop until she sneezed. it is looking like she has what kylee had (bronchitis), but with head congestion as well. i really do hate it when the kids get sick. i feel helpless, especially with alaina because she can't tell me what is bothering her....i just have to guess. hopefully this will all end soon.