Hodge Podge

I've been slacking in the posting department and I need to get caught up! Rewind back to St. Patty's Day and Kellan's official birthday celebration. We got him a little St. Patrick's Day cupcake to enjoy (which he later threw up when Marlon was pushing him on the swing after dinner!).
Turning one doesn't necessarily make you smarter, but it definitely makes you more curious! Kellan has enjoyed checking out what he can find in the trash can, and he also was caught eating a piece of the dog's food the same day. Gotta keep my eye on that boy!

Also, the day before Kellan's birthday Alex FINALLY had her cavities filled! I had a sleepless night before taking her and I was so stressed out, but we all survived. The dentist was able to get everything done that needed to be done (although they did tell me she was a bit difficult at first--her, difficult??!! I just can't imagine). She was sedated but awake, and I guess she was still alert enough to know that the drill was nearby! When she came out, she looked at me and in her groggy voice said "They shot me in both legs" (she got her IV in her thighs) so I guess she was somewhat aware of what was happening. She was pretty out of it and cranky--I got a glimpse of what she may be like as a pre-teen (SCARY!) She was moody, wanted to do everything herself, flipped emotions at the drop of a hat--it was like walking on eggshells around her for the first few hours afterwards, but the most important thing was that she made it through, and she hopefully isn't completely scarred for future dentist trips. I have already started telling her that she will be going back again for a cleaning, but that it will not involve the drill and the needles.

The weekend of the 20th we made a trip to State College for the weekend to hang out with our old friends and neighbors. It was great to see everyone there--Alex loves visiting with her friends, particularly since most of our friends have boys so she doesn't get to play with girls her age much outside of school. She was in heaven!! She's already talking about needing to go back there to visit the girls on our next "stay home day" (Saturday). We spent a good bit of time on campus visiting the HUB aquarium, hanging out on the Old Main lawn, eating at Baby's, hitting up the new Dunkin Donuts downtown (more than once!).

The girls on the steps of Old Main

Playing Red Light, Green Light

Enjoying a soft grassy spot to walk around on

My next post will be about our weekend visit from my dear friend Heidi and her 2 little boys!

Pray for Baby Stellan

I have so much to post on what we've been up to the past few weeks, but I have yet to get the motivation to organize my thoughts. In the meantime, please pray for baby Stellan--I've posted about MckMama before and her miracle baby--Stellan is now in the hospital with serious heart issues. Please pray!

Kellan is 1 year old!

Happy St. Patrick's Day all! My little guy is one today!



We had a party for Kellan this past weekend and we were fortunate enough to have almost all of our family there (we missed you Uncle Jonny, Nay Nay, Nolan, and Mia!). Kellan enjoyed himself and enjoyed trying some yummy cake for the first time!

Cousin Kaylee and Cousin Carter

Enjoying my ride-on toy from Ehren and Bryan

This cake thing looks like fun...

Check me out! This turning one thing is pretty cool!

At one, Kellan:

-can walk pretty well (with the occasional tumble when he gets off balance!) He now walks most of the time and only crawls every now and then.

-loves to play with balls and cars. He loves pushing balls around the kitchen (where they roll really nicely), and he can roll a ball back and forth and even isn't too bad at throwing the ball either.

-is a snuggler at times (so unlike his big sister!). He loves to bury his head in your lap, and he even can be seen crawling across the floor with his head to the ground--not sure what he's doing but he seems to enjoy himself! He also sometimes squeezes his eyes shut and gives a big cheesy grin when walking-cute, but a little dangerous!

-he can say things like dada and mama, and babbles a lot of nonsense. He can say things like "uh oh" when he drops something, and he also makes the panting dog sound with the tongue out.

-he is still a great eater. He has taken to milk pretty well (BYE BYE FORMULA!!) and he enjoys eating "big people food"...waffles, pancakes, veggies, fruit, the works.

-he is pretty inconsistent with napping but takes at least one nap a day, sometimes two. He sleeps very well at night thought--usually from about 7:30 until 7:00.

-he loves to "play" with the dog-following her, stealing her toys, throwing her squeaky shoe and balls for her, bothering her while she's trying to eat.

-he loves his big sister and enjoys watching her play!

He is truly a sweet boy and we've loved watching him grow this past year. We look forward to seeing what the second year holds!

Chocolate Mug Cake

I found this recipe online today and although I haven't made it yet, I plan to make it very soon! I thought I'd share it with you all-let me know if you make it how it turns out.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little,and tip out onto a plate if desired. YUM!

From chocolate cake...to the dentist. Monday is Alex's big appointment to get her cavities filled, teeth sealed, etc. I'm wondering what the point of dental insurance is, because our bill for this visit is going to be BIG. Like $2000+ big. Why have dental insurance if doesn't cover some of the treatments and only covers part of the other ones??? We are extremely frustrated with the cost of this, but don't know how we should pick and choose what we should have the dentist do because I can only imagine we would regret it later if she continues to have problems down the road. Does she need to have her teeth sealed at the age of 3 1/2? I don't know, but the dentist seems to say so. Does she need a stainless steel crown on her really bad cavity? I don't know, but again the dentist says that is the best option. All we can think is that we want to do what's best for her teeth, and hopefully prevent her from having to go through this again. So if this is what it takes...we'll just say 'bye bye' to our tax return this year.

First Taste of Spring

Gotta love the first taste of spring (and summer!)

We've had a great few days enjoying this BEAUTIFUL 70 degree weather we've been having. I have been outside with the kids as much as possible since we know it's dropping back into the 40's this week. We broke out the outdoor toys and the swing and put them to use. Since I seem to post pictures of Kellan a lot these days, I wanted to share a few of our first-born, who is turning into such a sweet girl--hard to believe she'll be 4 in a few months! She is so loving and helpful with her little brother and she is becoming quite the helper around the house. She keeps me on my toes with cleaning-you often hear "YUCK mom. This room is SO DIRTY. We need to clean it up." She offers to put things away, she likes to dust, and she recently started to help wash the dishes. I let her clean the windows around the house last weekend and she loved that too. Now if I could just get her to do all the vacuuming and the laundry...

Alex is practicing her soccer skills-we think Kellan may turn out to be a bit more coordinated than her, but only time will tell!

Last night I let Alex play in our bathtub with washable fingerpaints, Marlon's shaving cream, and some foam soap. I have memories when I was growing up of sitting at the kitchen table with it covered in a plastic sheet and playing with my dad's shaving cream, and I remember having a lot of fun! Alex stayed in the tub for a good 45 minutes, and when she was done we washed out the tub, refilled it with clean water, then gave her a bath. Easy fun, no mess, and she had a great time!

I had to sneak one in of Kellan and I playing outside. He really enjoyed the swing--he kept saying "Ahh" as he went back and forth, with a smile on his face.

Playing on the driveway with chalk..."I can't believe you won't let me eat this stuff mom!"

Our soon-to-be 4 year old

Settling down with The Bachelor

I'm just settling down to watch the finale of the Bachelor and I realized it's been forever since I've posted! First off, I prefer Molly to Melissa, but it seems like everyone else out there prefers Melissa. I think I always seem to pick the wrong one when it comes to these finales, but seeing as how every couple ends up breaking up at some point maybe I'm on to something! And I don't believe Deanna is returning because she wants Jason back--I think she's there to try and give him advice on picking the right person. We'll see!

Kellan is continuing to walk more and more--he is slowly walking more and crawling less. He still chooses to crawl quite a bit but is becoming steadier on his feet every day! Alex has recovered from her sinus infection and last week went to her first...wait for it...DANCE CLASS! (aren't you proud Renee and Lauren? :) Don't get too excited--she's not enrolling in beginning ballet anytime soon, but we did enroll her in a Creative Movement class that is once a week. Her friend Layla is in the class as well, and it's just a class that teaches "self expression through movement" and works on rhythm and coordination. Most importantly she's able to wear her leotard and tights and have a little fun! I forgot to take a few pictures last week but I'll try to remember to take some tomorrow--there were 5 little 3 year old girls in the class last week and it was so cute to see them all in their little leotards!

Not much else exciting to report--just getting ready for the little guy's birthday party in a few weeks. I'll leave you with a couple recent pics!

Quick updates

Just to update on my previous post...Alex ended up having a sinus infection, so she's on amoxcicillan (sp?) and doing so much better now. She got to go back to school on Wednesday (just in time for her Wednesday gymnastics class at school), so she was excited!

Kellan has been taking more and more steps and I think we can technically call him a walker now! This afternoon and this evening he walked across the living room, across the kitchen, and even down the hallway--although crawling is still his preferred method of transportation as of now.

Kellan flying high with daddy

Playing outside with chalk on the one warm winter day we had

Kellan experiencing playing in chalk on the driveway for the first time