farm day-2010

The months are just flying by these days. We are less than a week away from Alex's 5th birthday, and Kellan is 26 months old. I have a lot of catching up to do before we head into 3 very busy weeks with Alex finishing up school, dance, family trips, Alex's birthday and party...if I don't post about what we've been up to for the past month I may never be able to catch up!

At the end of April we went on Alex's annual school field trip to the farm. I brought Kellan along with me this time and it was fun to experience it with both kids. It was a hot sunny day (just what you DON'T want at a farm--it smelled lovely!) but we had a great time.

Welcome Baby Henry and more...

I need to start by saying a big "Welcome!" to little Henry William! He was born on April 21 to my dear friend Ehren and her husband Bryan. We are so excited for them (although sad that they're moving!) and it has been so wonderful to spend a little time with baby Henry before he leaves!

We had a busy weekend-I wish I had taken more pictures, but we started out Saturday by taking a ride to PSU with Marlon's team--for the first time we traveled ON THE BUS with the team! We woke the kids up nice and early (the bus left at 7:15 am) and packed our bags for the day (see below pic of kids before we left--still looking a little tired!). We had a good trip up, and we arrived in State College to traffic and tailgating! It was Blue/White Weekend, so we happened to be in town on a very busy day--they had the annual carnival, so I was able to take the kids over to the carnival for a bit and meet up with some old friends (Great to see you Mike, Amy, Max, Mindy, Grace and Edie!) The kids loved riding some of the rides (I did take some video--I'll have to upload that later). The weather was beautiful for the first half of the day, and it was great to return to a city that means so much to us...where Marlon and I met, where we went to school, where we had our first home, where Alex was born! I wish we had more time there (but fortunately we'll be heading back again this weekend!), but we only stuck around for Marlon's game then got back on the bus for a ride home. Kellan was exhausted and was asleep within 5 minutes of getting back onto the bus--and Alex, in her usual fashion, stayed awake the whole time! It was a long day but a fun trip!
On Sunday we were able to spend another day outside enjoying some beautiful weather. Marlon's team had a picnic for lunch (where we got to see Baby Henry again!), then the team played a game against some alumni later in the afternoon. The kids love going to games, running around, and going out on the field when the game ends. The weather was great and I had some tired kids by the end of the day!

Here's a picture of the team--both past and present members (and 3 cute little kids as well--the third being Adelaide!)

I wanted to quickly end the post with an update on how Kellan's doing in his big bed. He's really done great with it--we don't have any big challenges except the minor issue you see below. Most days (and nights) he likes to empty out everything on his bookshelf and bring it into his bed. He usually doesn't put it back before he goes to sleep, so he often falls asleep in a bed that hardly has any room for him! It's just cute to see him hanging out in there with everything--and since he is still sleeping well it's not too big of a deal! Each night he likes to have Alex snuggle with him first and sing him a few songs (usually "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "You are my sunshine"), then he wants me to snuggle with him and sing the songs again. If daddy is home, he gets invited in as well.

Easter, big boy bed and more

Our little boy can now be found in a big boy bed! Two weeks ago when I put him down for a nap, after about 20 minutes I heard a bunch of loud thumping noises, then I heard the door to his room open. I went around the corner to find my son standing at the door! I tried to put him back in his bed again and again 15 minutes later I heard him at the door. That evening I put a child lock inside the door so I wouldn't have to worry about him getting out of the room in the middle of the night. The next morning when he woke up, I heard him knocking at the door saying "Hello? Anybody there?" It was pretty funny. See the clip below from one of his naptimes. I was glad he hadn't climbed out before now and I had been hoping to keep him in his crib much longer than this, but after a few days of not napping and continuously climbing out of the bed, I decided to put the toddler side onto his bed. Alex did not adjust well when she transitioned to a toddler bed--she had always been a great sleeper and became a kid who needed someone to lay with her at night, cried out for us, etc. for a period of time. Fortunately Kellan has adjusted much better. He seems to enjoy his bed and he likes that Alex and I are able to snuggle with him each night before bed. I took a few pictures of him the other night after he fell asleep. My sweet, sweet boy!

Here's a little video of Alex and Adelaide snuggling with Kellan before bedtime...

Since I feel like Alex often gets overlooked in my posts, here's one of her and I on Easter Sunday (with Sophie napping in the background!)

I did not have an easy time getting pictures of the kids on Easter Sunday before we left for church--I was working in the nursery that morning so we had to leave pretty early, and my kids aren't keen on picture time to start with, but it was such a beautiful day so I tried to snap a few before we left.

I'll finish with a few more cute photos--here is Kellan practicing his horseback riding.

Alex and Adelaide being silly!

Recent events---in video

We've been busy as usual and haven't had much time to take many pictures, but I've been trying to capture fun moments on video! I will post pics of Kellan's birthday party later (or you can visit Renee's blog for a few :)

This clip is Kellan saying one of my favorite things: This is usually how he responds if he's eating or drinking something he likes.

Here are 2 videos of some water balloon fun with daddy!

The last 2 videos are from our Mommy and me gymnastics class that we do every Friday morning. Kellan's favorite part is definitely the trampoline into the pit!

Kellan is 2!

Spring is almost here, and that means Kellan is having a birthday! He's currently napping after enjoying some lunch and playtime at Chick-Fil-A today. So what can I say about my little man today...he is such a joy! So different from his sister in so many ways, but such an energetic personality just like her!

He is active, busy, on the go. He goes full speed ahead at everything he does (scaring Marlon and I most of the time!)--he is a boy through and through.

He enjoys playing outside, riding his little bike, chasing bubbles, and kicking balls of course.

He still sleeps with "lovey", "buddy", and blanket.

He can count pretty well up to around 16 or 17. He recognizes most letters and is practicing singing the ABCs. (he does like to sing the chorus of the "New York" song (not sure what it's really called) by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z though!) He also sings along with one of the songs on one of his Thomas the Train videos.

His favorite show is Chuggington (he enjoys singing along to this theme song as well), and he LOVES to watch someone play anything on the Wii. He's a great cheerleader when Alex plays (as you can see from the video on the previous post!)

He knows most of his colors--we're still working on brown, black and white (I would consider those boring colors that aren't too much fun to learn about, so I guess that's why I haven't focused on them!)

One favorite thing he and Alex like to do is collect all the pillows/cushions from around the house, pile them up in the living room and jump and climb all over them.

He is beginning to like coloring.

He seems to be going through a phase of not eating much. His appetite has definitely slowed down significantly (fortunately he was eating a ton before, so it's not a big deal!). I have to force him to finish even half of most of his meals. I'm sure his eating will pick up again eventually. He still loves fruit--blueberries, canteloupe, bananas, mandarin oranges, pineapples!

He started taking a gymnastics class (a mommy and me one) last week and he really enjoyed it, so that's kind of our birthday gift to him. We'll go to class once a week on Friday mornings through May! He gets to run around, bounce on the trampoline, climb on the balance beam, and play in the foam pit...all right up his alley!

Yesterday he was being really quiet while Alex and I were working on his birthday cake, and when I went looking for him I saw that he had taken Sophie's dog treats into my room (they were in a canister in the pantry), emptied the entire container on the floor and had hidden treats all over my room (we found one in my sink, one in the bathtub, bathroom, under the bed, etc.) Fortunately the container was getting pretty close to empty so Sophie didn't eat too many. Guess I should be grateful I didn't catch him eating them too!

We will be having all of our family in for the weekend to celebrate his birthday with a train party, so we're excited to see everyone! Tonight we will celebrate by having some chinese food for dinner and enjoying his special St. Patty's day cake with some friends.

Happy Birthday little man! We love watching you grow (although we feel it's happening way too fast!!).

Birthday Eve

On the night before Kellan's 2nd birthday, I am posting a few funny videos of the birthday boy-to-be. I will post a birthday post tomorrow! We are having a lunch playdate at Chick-Fil-A with moms from my MOPS group, and I made him an ice cream filled cake (white cake with vanilla ice cream (containing crushed mint oreos) inside) decorated for St. Patty's Day!

Video 1--Stinky Feet

Video 2-Cheering Alex on while she ski jumps on Wii Fit

Video 3-"Watch Me"

Bring on some SUN!

Welcome back sun! We've really missed you around here :) The kids and I have tried to take advantage of the beautiful weather we're having by being outside as much as we can!

Let's begin by saying what says March better than Girl Scout C00kies?! Our boxes arrived on Sunday and the kids and I broke into the Thin Mints. Let's just say either the boxes are getting smaller or we're eating a lot more of them, because they were gone by Tuesday. (both kids are big fans!) Wish I would have known that sooner...I would have gotten more than one box. Here is Alex enjoying hers...

Kellan is really enjoying riding outside--I just have to make sure he doesn't go off the side of the driveway into the ditch, or down the slope of the driveway into the street. Fortunatley he seems to be coordinated enough to stop himself (so far).


The kids have also enjoyed getting back on the swings. Alex loves swinging herself and always reminds me when I give her a push that I'm nowhere near as good as daddy...sorry girl, but daddy rarely takes you outside so you're stuck with me.

Today it is beautiful out, so Kellan and I spent some time outside after lunch, and he was so excited that I broke out the popsicles. For a good portion of the winter, every time we walked past the refrigerator in the garage he would start asking for popsicles (probably since that's the only thing he's ever seen come out of it!) He's a kid on a mission when he eats one of them--he works on it til it's gone!

Cute little man's feet. Can't believe this boy is turning 2 in less than a week! Stay tuned for his 2 year old post! I have grand plans to make a cute cake with ice cream (vanilla with crushed mint oreos mixed in) in the middle for his real birthday, complete with a clover on it of course in honor of st. patty's day.

Chasing bubbles (although I don't think you can see them very well in this photo)

Again, chasing bubbles--if you look closely you can see them!

Welcome back warm weather! We'll be sad to see you go in a few days when the rain comes :(