The Eikelands

Pancakes for dinner

2012-01-29T16:23:00.000-08:00

I think having pancakes for dinner is going to be our new "thing" when Erik has meetings. He had one this afternoon at church, but even though he was going to be home in time for dinner, Kayleigh still wanted to have pancakes. I got the idea from Amanda Eikeland to spell out the kids' names when I made the pancakes. I don't think the letters turned out as well, but Kayleigh thought it was pretty cool. Brian's name isn't long enough to fill him up, so he had another pancake after eating his letters. Are you surprised to hear/read that???

On the griddle

The finished product

Brian had spiky hair from getting syrup in it. He thought it was hilarious to smile with his eyes closed. I thought this was the best one of his spikes and his smile.

S'mores

2012-01-27T16:26:00.000-08:00

...yummy! Kayleigh reminded me earlier this week that we were supposed to make s'mores again soon. We went outside after dinner to make our dessert. The s'mores were delicious and it was a fun way to finish off our week!

Erik roasting our marshmallows

Kayleigh and Brian enjoying their s'mores. Brian was too excited to stop eating and smile for the camera.

Pajama Day

2012-01-06T11:06:00.000-08:00

Today was pajama day at school. She was so excited to wear her pajamas, but couldn't decide which to wear, so she combined two pairs. The nightie is from my parents with the matching nightie for her doll. Jenna had giving Kayleigh other pajamas with the zebra print pants. I think it worked out well because it was pretty cool this morning and I didn't have to worry about Kayleigh being too cold. One of Kayleigh's teachers made home-made waffles for the class, and they got to have applesauce and cinnamon apples, too. It was a good way to end a short, 2 day school week!

Fun with Mama Shirley and Daddy Jim

2011-12-29T14:03:00.000-08:00

The kids got to go play with Mama Shirley and Daddy Jim this morning. They always have lots of fun together, and today they made little marshmallow snowmen. They were too cute not to show off. We can't wait for dessert tonight!! :)

Christmas in St Pete

2011-12-28T05:48:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas in St Pete. We got down on Friday and got to play for awhile before heading to our favorite Thai restaurant for dinner. We had an extra guest with us. Ryan (Jill's daughter) joined us for dinner. We got to babysit her that night and had so much fun with our cousin.

Brian asleep with Abuelo

On Saturday morning, we took the kids to visit Grannie and Aunt Ola. We were surprised to see some of Erik's cousins there. We haven't seen them (the cousins) in years, so it was nice to catch up with them and visit with Grannie and Aunt Ola. Of course Grannie had a delicious lunch for us. We tried to get the kids to nap that afternoon before heading up to Jonathan and Chat's house for dinner that night. Brian slept, but I think Kayleigh was too excited to sleep.
Dad made pork for our Noche Buena dinner, and Chat had black beans and rice to go with it. After dinner the kids got to open their presents and play for awhile before we headed home.
Brian did not want to sleep in his crib while we were there, so we decided to let him sleep wherever he would. That means Saturday night he was in Kayleigh's room sleeping with Kayleigh and Erik. I had been in there for a little while, but when I got up for something Brian took my space and so I went to another room to have a bed for myself! :)

Cookies and milk for Santa

Everyone is asleep! Time for Santa to come!

The kids were so excited to open their gifts Sunday morning. Kayleigh's one item on her Christmas list was a guitar. (She had wanted slippers before that, but got them from someone before Christmas and changed her list.) I couldn't believe it when she went right to the guitars, which were in boxes and wrapped, and said that they were Brian's and her guitars! I still made her wait to open that gift because I didn't want her to ignore everything else. Sure enough, they opened the guitars toward the end, and then were finished opening gifts. It worked out because we wanted to go to church, so we had plenty of time for breakfast and getting ready to go. We finished opening presents after lunch.

Brian playing an "instrument"

Kayleigh with her headband made by Aunt Robyn

Everyone napped that afternoon before going to Barbara and Jack's house for dinner. Dinner was delicious and there were even more cousins there for the kids to play with!! Barbara and Jack gave the kids each a gift, and they played with them for a little bit before trying to watch Veggie Tales. I don't think any of the kids watched the whole video before deciding that running in circles around the house would be fun.

Waiting to open presents

Relaxing and watching TV

Worn out!

Bed #3 for Brian

We drove home on Monday with LOTS of other people clogging the road. Thankfully there were no accidents and we got home safely. My mom bought some new sheets for Kayleigh's bed, and before we left to go to St Pete, I snuck upstairs and put them on her bed. I brought the camera upstairs with me to get a video of Kayleigh when she saw the sheets for the first time. I have to say, her reaction was priceless. Here's the link to the video. I can't get it to embed.
http://youtu.be/SWuhXSlftiA

Christmas happenings

2011-12-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

We are definitely in the Christmas season! We've had lots going on with more fun stuff coming up in the next two weeks. This last weekend, we decided to go look at Christmas lights. There is a house in town that had 100,000 (you read that correctly!) lights and was set to dance with music. It was really neat to see!
Saturday morning, we went to church to have Breakfast in Bethlehem. The kids always have fun with the crafts and getting to dress up and have their picture taken. Breakfast was delicious, and it was nice having it in our renovated fellowship hall.

On Sunday evening, Erik's work had their annual kids Christmas party. Kayleigh said she was going to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what she wanted. We didn't think that Brian would sit on Santa's lap because Kayleigh wouldn't get near him at that age! Kayleigh climbed right up on his lap, and Brian let him pull him up. We had a blast and the kids got

When we got home from the party, we found Tracy in her room covered with one of the pillows we keep in there. She must have been cold!

Finally, I need to introduce you to our elf. His name is Bobadoo Snitcharoo. We LOVE the name Bob, so that had to be part of his name. Erik liked the Snitcharoo part, because every night our elf flies to the North Pole to tell Santa how the kids have been behaving that day. It's fun because each morning when we wake up, he's in a different place! The kids love to find him in the mornings. He's been fun to have. I know other people who have gotten elves in their houses, and I've wanted one but never got it. Grammy (Jan) bought him for us this year.

Hanging of the Green

2011-11-28T07:06:00.001-08:00

Every year our church has a service where we get into the Christmas spirit by singing carols and decorating the sanctuary. This is the first year that we participated because Kayleigh got to sing in the program. After the singing, they had all of the kids make a Nativity scene. I think Kayleigh didn't get the point of it, so she hung out in the background. It was really neat, and I'm glad we got to participate this year

Singing her song

The angels at the Nativity scene

Final Nativity scene

Here is a link to Kayleigh singing. I couldn't get the video on the blog. Sorry!

http://youtu.be/T6tnLGiU4aM

And, on a totally random note, when we got home from dinner the other night, I saw a possum in our front yard. Yuck! Then, the possum ran up our tree!! We couldn't believe it! Of course, I had to run inside to get the camer and take pictures. Thankfully the possum didn't want to get closer for better pictures!

Playing catch up

2011-11-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we have actually been doing things around here. Because it's easier for me, I'm going to start with the oldest activities and then go to the new. So, here we go!

A couple of weekends ago, Erik got tickets to the FSU football game. The kids had a fabulous time and did not want to leave. We stayed until the end of the 3rd quarter and figured we should get out so we could get some dinner and beat the rush. I was a little nervous about having kids at the stadium at the end of a college football game. I know they students can be a little nuts-o after a win. I think the only part Kayleigh didn't like was the fireworks at the beginning of the game. I think she likes fireworks, but she DOESN'T like the noise!

Doing the Seminole Chop

Kayleigh and me

Brian and Erik

Kayleigh covering her ears from the noise.

Last weekend I headed out to California with Valerie and a couple of other friends for a wedding. We had a blast together--as always--but it was a super quick trip with really only one day of being together and 2 days of travel. On the plus side, Valerie and I were able to get on an earlier flight home and so got home at 6:40 rather than 7:40. We flew into Jacksonville, so I was happy to be getting back home an hour earlier.

Silly girls!

All of us at the wedding.

Monday was Halloween. Kayleigh had decided she wanted to be a super hero and would not change her mind. So, she wore her cape that she made at a cousin's birthday party. She was happy with herself, so I guess that's all that matters. I made Brian "Lightning McQueen" by dressing him in black pants, a red shirt, and his Lightning McQueen hat. Kayleigh had a little party at school that we went to. She was happy to see us and they let Brian participate in the activities, which was nice. We went to see Grammy before dinner and then after we ate we walked around our neighborhood. The kids got PLENTY of candy and had a really good time!

Super Kayleigh!

Halloween Parade

Decorating pumpkins

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday with Valerie, Matt, and Robbie. We had fun checking out the pumpkins. The kids wanted to go on a pony ride, so we waited the 20 minutes (UGH!) or so for that ride, and then they got their faces painted before we came home. The others were ready to go, so they came back here to the house and we met them for lunch. We will pick out a pumpkin next weekend when Erik can be with us. I'm sure the kids will have fun going back, and maybe I can get some better pictures.

We have to take our picture here every year

Robbie checking out the pumpkins

Hay stack picture

Robbie and Kayleigh

Brian on his horse

Kayleigh on her horse

Brian pointing to his pumpkin that he had painted on his face.

Kayleigh with her turtle. (She told the girls she wanted a turtle, a lizard, or a frog. All green animals!)

Catching Up

2011-10-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we bought ourselves a kite at one of the consignment stores. We took it out to the park last weekend to see it fly. It actually did better than I thought it would, but ended up breaking after one too many crash landings. The kids had fun with it, so I think we'll be getting another one sometime.

I read online or in a magazine, I can't remember which, about painting a glass jar orange with some tape on it to look like a pumpkin. I didn't have the correct paint, so I thought I would end up storing in my brain for future use. Then, this week, one of the girls who works with Erik sent him home with a whole supply of acrylic paint--just what I needed! I bought a little glass and taped some eyes and mouth on it, and put Kayleigh to work making a pumpkin. It's not perfect by any means, but isn't it cute??

Then I found this idea online for some nice fall decorations. We already had the wine glasses, and I bought the little pumpkins at Walmart when I bought the glass for Kayleigh to paint. In the picture online, it has the pumpkins in the bottom and candles on top. I figure this works just as well. This is pretty much the extent of our fall decorating. We'll bring some more stuff out for Christmas, but that's really the only time we go big.

Brian's birthday party

2011-10-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

It was finally Brian's turn to turn two yesterday. He's been saying that he's two for about a month, so now he's not lying anymore. :) We had the family over for pizza and dessert last night. Brian got a bunch of fun gifts from everyone, and he had so much fun playing with his cousins and friends!

Birthday cake

Blowing out his candle

Checking out his new bike!

Playing with his lawn mower. Okay, this picture was taken the other day. We let Brian open it a few days early when Erik was mowing the lawn.

Praying mantis

2011-09-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

We were cleaning up from playing outside this morning, and Kayleigh started freaking out in her Jeep. We knew some kind of bug was in there, but we didn't know what it was. I was so surprised to see a praying mantis! We heard a few weeks ago at the Grape Festival that they lived here in town, but I had never seen one. I got a bunch of pictures of it while it was on Kayleigh's Jeep. It looked like it might lunge at Kayleigh, but it didn't and we reassured her that it wouldn't hurt her even if it did. Not a minute later it jumped on me, and in Kayleigh's words, I "freaked out"! That may be an understatement. We don't want our kids to be afraid of every kind of bug, but I don't really know what those suckers can do to a person! Erik got it in our bug net and put it on the tree.

Here it is right before jumping on me:

Here it is on the tree after being rescued by Erik:

All by himself

2011-09-19T05:27:00.000-07:00

I heard Brian in the kitchen playing around the dishwasher. I had taken some of the dishes out, and he closed the door. The next thing I know, he's in my room saying, "Ink!" (Drink) The lid to his cup was resting on top of it, like I had left it after taking it out of the dishwasher. I asked him if he wanted some milk, and he said no. I went to get the cup and realized that he was so excited about his drink because he had grabbed the cup, gone into the bathroom to fill it up with water (from the sink) and then put the lid on it! I still went and got the stopper for the cup to keep it from leaking and screwed the lid on all the way. I couldn't believe he had done that, though!

Go Gators!

2011-09-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

I did a lot of sewing in my first week, finishing with Kayleigh's new Gator dress. I did the shorts for Brian a few days before. There is one other dress that I made for Kayleigh, which I forgot to get a picture of her in. I made her wait until Sunday to wear it because I was afraid she might stain it. I'll get a picture of it the next time she's in it, maybe later this week. I can't wait for Jenna's sewing Bible Study! I'm going to put off any other projects until then.

Sew...

2011-09-03T05:52:00.000-07:00

So, my friend Jenna has been sewing for a couple of years now and has made SO many cute things! She is starting a Bible Study in a few weeks where the girls will get together and sew. It sounds like fun, and I have kind of wanted to try sewing, especially since I have my grandma's sewing machine. That machine isn't working right now (boo!), but Jenna came over the other night with her machine and material, and we made this super cute dress for Kayleigh.

After I took Kayleigh's picture, Brian (of course) wanted to have his picture taken. Sorry about the lack of shorts...He wasn't done getting dressed.

Grape festival

2011-08-28T06:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we went to a Grape Festival and had a lot of fun. We had to park off site, but there were buses to take us to our destination. The first thing we saw getting off the bus were ponies, so we went there first for a ride. Brian wanted to get on a pony, and we were happy with how brave he was! We walked around for a little while before going on a tractor ride to see the vineyard. After the ride, we tried a bunch of different kinds of grapes. Most of them were really good, but they weren't seedless like we're used to! We had a bunch of fun, but it was really hot, so we left and headed to Costco for some free samples and lunch. :)

Kayleigh's first day of VPK!

2011-08-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

Kayleigh started school yesterday! She was so excited, especially since we pass the school almost every day. She had a hard time coming up with what she did during the day, except to say that she was upset that they didn't get to play on the playground. Apparently, there is too much to learn in too little time for them to have a break to play. It doesn't look like they'll ever make it to the playground. At dinner, we were able to get her to open up a little more about her day.
Brian saw me get the camera out yesterday and immediately ran to the wall where we take our pictures and started saying, "Cheese!" The pictures were hilarious because he looks so pained in each one! He really was happy, though, I promise! Here are the best/worst pictures, however you look at it:

St Pete!

2011-08-14T15:46:00.001-07:00

We got home last night from our latest trip to St Pete. On Saturday morning, we dropped Erik off at the airport for his trip to Haiti, and then we took off for my parents' house for the week. Here's a breakdown of our trip.

Saturday: We got to my parents' house a little before 1:00. Valerie got in that evening with Robbie. Jonathan, Chat and their kids surprised us with a visit. The kids had tons of fun together, and this time Brian was mostly able to keep up. He liked the attention he got from his older cousins for sure.

Sunday: We went to church with my parents and saw some familiar faces. After naps, Valerie and I took our kids to a friend's parents' birthday party. We got to see Barbara and Jack there, which we were happy about since Barbara had to go back to work the next morning. (Boo!) Valerie had her camera that night. Hopefully she'll post some pictures!

Monday: We met up with Jonathan's family at Chuck E. Cheese's. To say we had a blast was an understatement! Jonathan is the Chuck E. Cheese's king, winning the most tickets by far. We stayed about 4 hours and ended our trip with cotton candy. YUM! That night we went to my (and Kayleigh's) favorite Thai restaurant.

Tuesday: It rained today. BORING! After putting Robbie and Brian down for their afternoon naps, we snuck Kayleigh out for some time at the beach. It was rainy but not thundering and lightning, so we stayed out for almost 2 hours! It was pretty choppy, so we mostly stayed at the shoreline collecting coquinas and letting the waves wash over our legs. I don't have any pictures of this since neither Valerie nor I were willing to take our cameras to the beach. We picked Grandma (Nana) up on our way home so she could have dinner with us. After we ate, Kayleigh gave her a stack of books to read to her. Grandma made it through 4 or 5 books before telling Kayleigh she couldn't read anymore. She did much better than me--I only make it through 1 or 2 before I say the same thing!

Wednesday: The kids and I visited Grannie and Aunt Ola. We almost had to cancel our trip because we were having such a bad storm that morning, but the rain let up for us to have a really nice visit with them. Grannie had lunch for us and let the kids play with all of her monkeys. After dinner, Dad took all of the kids on a ride on his mower. They loved it, and even got to wave at neighbors as they passed by!

Thursday: Valerie and I took our kids up to Jonathan and Chat's house to meet up with them and go to the beach. We had another long play date with them, staying at the beach 3 1/2 hours. We got a little sunburned, but had fun getting it. The kids tried boogie boarding. Brian hated it from the time he got on the board. Kayleigh did it a couple of times, but salt water really stings your eyes, and the pain was too much for her. There was a lot of other activities going on to keep them occupied. All of the kids let us big kids get some time on the boogie boards. I'm not good at it at all, but it was fun all the same.

Friday: All of us went to Lowry Park Zoo. Thanks for the tickets, Dad! We got there about 9:45 and stayed until 3:30. Whew. The kids were troopers, and I think we did everything we wanted to. We got to see a 1 month old rhinoceros. Kayleigh rode her first "big" roller coaster. She was a little too short for it and her head kept hitting the safety bar, so it wasn't her favorite part of the day. We got to feed a giraffe and ride a camel! I don't know when I've ever been to that zoo, and I LOVED it! Dad took Kayleigh for some new sunglasses before she went to bed. She wore them the whole way home!

I did two slide shows for the park because there are a LOT of pictures that I liked!

Saturday: It's our day to go home. Jonathan, Chat and kids came to Mom and Dad's house to say good bye. Brian was literally asleep 5 minutes after we left. We got home in plenty of time to pick Erik up from the airport. Unfortunately, when the plane was supposed to land, everyone there anxiously awaiting a loved one started getting texts saying that the plane had to return to Miami due to mechanical problems. We were so glad that they were safe, but hated having to leave the airport without Erik. It was a mess for him trying to get home!

Sunday: Erik is here!!! We had a lot of fun on our vacation, but missed him and were so happy to have him home!

Videos

2011-08-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

Kayleigh was standing up on the bricks in front of the fire place the other day, wanting to put on a show. It was so funny, and we loved that she was making up her own songs to sing. Brian, wanting to be like his older sister, got up there to do the same thing! He obviously doesn't have the same amount of words as Kayleigh, but he did his best. At the very end, you can see Brian cheering for himself, and then takes a little bow. You should hear us cheering for him, and that's when you know he's done it. I think he does it twice.

Kayleigh:

Brian:

Miniature horses and donkeys

2011-07-24T14:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, our friend Jan (AKA Grammy) invited us to go to a friend's house and see their miniature horses and donkeys. A couple of the horses had just given birth to TINY babies, and it was so much fun to see them! We stayed about an hour looking and petting all of their animals. Kayleigh was so excited when, at the end of our visit, one of the new mother horses came over to her in her stall to get petted. It was so cute because that same mother also seemed to nudge her pony awake to say good bye. A couple of the other mares are about to give birth, and we might make another trip out there to see their babies soon.

Pantene Beautiful Lengths

2011-07-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

Kayleigh has been talking about cutting her hair for a long time now and I finally decided to give in. I never even told her that her cousin, Taylor, had cut her hair, but she came up with the idea anyway. I was afraid that as soon as I told her about Taylor's haircut, she would want one, too.
I was going to take Kayleigh to the salon tomorrow, but after checking out their website this morning (thankfully) I found out that they are closed tomorrow. So, we skipped the library and headed out for her cut. The lady was super nice, and super fast. I almost didn't get any pictures of her cutting Kayleigh's ponytail, she was so fast! Overall, I'm happy with the cut, but I am sad to not see all of that blonde hair that Kayleigh grew for so long.
Kayleigh had told me before that she would grow her hair long again for me if I would let her cut it. In the car on the way home, she said that she didn't want her hair to grow. I ask, "I thought you said you would grow it long again?" To which she replied, "I just said that to make you happy." Now I'm really sad!
And, in case you're wondering, we are donating her hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, the same company I donated my hair to last summer. They require 8 inches, but Kayleigh had about 9 1/2" in her ponytail. We'll go to the post office tomorrow and send it away.

So sweet!

2011-07-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

Kayleigh wanted to watch a show after nap time today, and after she got herself settled on the couch, she called Brian over. It was so sweet seeing the two of them snuggled together. I figured I had to get photo evidence in case they forget later that they once loved each other. :)

Jacksonville visit

2011-07-08T04:12:00.000-07:00

I brought the kids over to Jacksonville on Tuesday for some fun time with Valerie and family. When we got here Tuesday afternoon, Robbie needed a bottle. I was feeding him for a little bit when he got some formula on his chin. I asked Brian to get the burp cloth for me and I wiped his face. Brian thought it looked like fun. He wanted to be the one giving Robbie his bottle and wiping his face. So, Brian would let Robbie drink for about 2 seconds, and then take the bottle out and wipe his face. It was very sweet to watch, but very frustrating for Robbie who wanted more milk than he was being given!

On Wednesday we went to the beach for awhile. The waves were huge, so we didn't really get to go in the water. Luckily, we could at least get wet playing on the shoreline. The water was really cold, so I'm kind of glad I didn't have to take the kids too far in the water. I was also glad that I didn't have to keep track of two kids in the water. I was a little nervous about that!
On Thursday we took the kids to a state park that had a water play area. Kayleigh really liked it, and Brian was into it for a little while. It had a bunch of fountains and things that would squirt at you. It was a lot of fun, and the kids got to be outside without being too hot.

On Thursday night after dinner at a pizza place, I gave my kids a bath while Valerie fed Robbie. Kayleigh and Brian wanted to see Robbie in the tub when it was his turn, and Matt got this picture.

Kayleigh also decided on Thursday night that she wanted to sleep on the floor under Matt's desk. (It's in the guest room where we stayed.) I told her she could try and she actually slept all night under there!

Here are a few other pictures from our time in Jacksonville:

Nature as a teacher

2011-07-04T07:01:00.003-07:00

I found Kayleigh laying on the armrest of the chair this morning and wondered where she learned how to do that.

Then I remembered that we saw a squirrel doing the same thing recently. :)

OUCH!

2011-06-27T05:10:00.000-07:00

My poor Kayleigh, who most of you know is not always the most coordinated on her feet, was trying to climb on the bed the other day. She slipped and hit her eyebrow on the bed frame! I heard the crash and went running in. I called to Erik to bring some ice, because it was already bruised and swollen. I know it was a bad fall because it took her a LONG time to recover. We had some children's ibuprofin, so we gave some to her to help with the pain that I'm sure she felt.

"Where are we???"

"Here we are!"
On a lighter note, sometimes Brian likes to hide behind our curtains in our bedroom. I got some pictures of him hiding and coming out. Kayleigh saw the camera and her opportunity to have her picture taken, so she jumped in.

Pictures

2011-06-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

I am currently working out using the "10 Minute Trainer" videos, and Kayleigh likes to work out with me. I usually do it during nap time, and the other day when Kayleigh got up, she asked if she could workout. I let her, and she did the whole ten minutes. At the end she said, "I did it Mommy, and I didn't even sweat!"

Last night, Erik got the kids dressed after their bath. He put Kayleigh in Brian's jammmies, thinking it would be funny, or that she would stop him. She thought it was hilarious and didn't want to change. So, we put Brian in one of Kayleigh's big t-shirts that she'll sleep in sometimes and that's how they went to bed.

Updates

2011-06-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

We have been busy lately just doing things around, and I guess I haven't been in the mood to blog.
Sometime last week, we ate dinner and then decided to go outside to plant some seeds that Kayleigh got for her birthday, along with a gardening kit. She and Brian also got some cute gardening gloves from Jenna, so the kids wore them for a bit while they worked. Since it was warm out and we had gotten some work done, we had popsicles on the patio. Brian usually tries to push different things out the doggie door, and this night was no different, but instead of pushing things outside, he was pushing them inside. You'll see what I mean in the pictures.

Yesterday was the first day of VBS. I am teaching this year, and it's the first year that Kayleigh is able to attend. We had a great first day, and both kids were worn out from being so busy all morning. I had to wake Kayleigh up because we were going to meet some friends for dinner. This is how she looked when I got upstairs:

When I saw her, I crept out of her room and downstairs as fast as I could, hoping she wouldn't wake up while I was gone, because I wanted to get her picture. She said it was her medicine...

Panama City Beach

2011-06-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to PCB with our friends this weekend. They have a son who is just a couple of months older than Brian, and we had a blast with them at the beach. The weather was perfect, and the only time we thought it was going to rain was right before we were going out to dinner, so that didn't bother us. Erik and I haven't been to Panama City since we were engaged, we think, and a lot has changed since then! Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Kayleigh's birthday

2011-05-31T05:19:00.000-07:00

Kayleigh's 4th birthday was yesterday. We had a party for her with Erik's parents, the Spickards (our friends across the street), and Valerie, Matt and Robbie. We are so thankful for everyone who came to the party, but especially Valerie and Matt who traveled the farthest and were put to work while they were here. On Sunday afternoon, Valerie, Kayleigh and I started making some bunny cookies and her cake. Kayleigh said she wanted a Max and Ruby cake, which I figured was easy enough. Valerie had bunny cookie cutters, so we made a bunny cake and then made cookies for our guests to take home. After Kayleigh went to bed that night, Valerie and I got busy cutting and decorating the cake. It took a long time, but we wanted it to look good!
On Monday morning, we gave Kayleigh her bike. She was so excited to ride it! Brian wanted a ride, but the pedals definitely get in the way of his feet when the bike moves, and we didn't want him to lose a foot, so we just let him sit on it. After that, Kayleigh wanted to open the rest of the presents from us. I had her open the box of clothes first, because I knew that would be her least favorite thing. Sure enough, she opened the box, looked at the clothes in it, and moved on to the next thing. We got her some packs of gum, because we told her that she could chew gum when she was four, and with her elephant's memory, never forgot!
When everyone got to our house, we let the kids play for a little while before eating pizza for lunch. After that, we took a break to let Kayleigh open her gifts before cutting the cake and having dessert.
Valerie and Matt stayed until after dinner. When they left, I asked Kayleigh if she wanted to watch a movie. I was too tired to play and that kept them busy until it was time for bed.

Kayleigh's recital

2011-05-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

Kayleigh did GREAT at her recital this morning! She was obviously the best dancer in her class. :) I took a bunch of pictures while Kayleigh was dancing, and Erik got the video.

Orlando trip

2011-05-17T05:53:00.000-07:00

Erik and I took the kids to Orlando this weekend to go to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom with our friends, the Giuniperos. I think this was one of the last good weekends to go. I think the longest we waited in line for a ride was 20 minutes. We did use the Fast Passes a couple of times, so we could literally skip to the front of the line. We went to Magic Kingdom on Friday. We hit a lot of the park, but the day goes by so quickly that I think we did miss one area. Kayleigh rode so many rides, including Splash Mountain!! We couldn't believe that she would want to ride it, and she barely made the height requirement. I seriously considered buying the picture they take of you on the ride for proof, but the person sitting in front of Kayleigh completely blocked her from view of the picture. Brian had fun, and thankfully wanted to sit in the stroller most of the time, so we didn't have to chase him all around the park.

On Saturday we went to Animal Kingdom. I definitely think this is a good second park, because it's not as big, and you don't have to spend as much time waiting in lines. My favorite part was the safari ride. The tour guide was hilarious, and you were pretty close to the animals. Brian especially liked the petting zoo, and was chasing goats around to brush them. Our day was cut a little short by the rain, but I think we saw almost everything before we left.
On Saturday night, I convinced my family to go to Ikea with me. I bought a skillet there in the fall when we were in Atlanta, and I really like it so I wanted another one. Of course, Ikea is no quick trip, and Erik gave me a one hour time limit. I think I went over some, but I was pretty much done shopping at that point. We bought some more little plates and plasticware for the kids, and we bought new glasses for us.

Sunday was our day to come home, but before we did, we hung out at the resort and played. We tried playing miniature golf with the kids, but they are still a little too young for it. We knew Brian was, and wasn't going to get him clubs, but the girl at the Activities desk convinced us to. After that, we went to cool off in the pool. It has a "zero entry", which means it's like the beach, where you can just walk in gradually. Brian really liked the pool, and we were laughing because he looked like a zombie walking in the water with his arms straight out. Kayleigh needs another refresher course in swimming. She has the desire to swim by herself, but she doesn't quite have the technique down. After getting ourselves and our room cleaned up, we headed over to McDonald's for a quick bite to eat before our trek home. It was a great weekend!

Friday morning

2011-05-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

What else can I say???

Tails and Trails 2011

2011-05-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

Kayleigh has been talking again lately about running another race. Erik decided he wanted to do the Tails and Trails race this year. It supports the local animal shelter, so it's for a good cause. You may remember that Tails and Trails was Kayleigh's "first" race that she ran last year. Go HERE for a refresher. She did a great job running. We said again, "You can run or you can walk, but you cannot stop." She would jog a little, sprint some, walk and skip. She took almost 9 minutes to get to the half way point (it was a 1 mile race), and finished in 17:27, not bad for not training! It was just 7 seconds off of her personal record. Hopefully this was enough to keep her satisfied for awhile, because it's getting too hot to run any more races until the fall.
The post-race event is fun. They bring dogs out from the shelter, and they all love attention. We got lots of treats for ourselves--including Snow Cones, cotton candy and popcorn--and PetSmart was there with tons of free samples, so I helped myself to quite the goody bag for our dogs.

Bubbles

2011-04-26T09:48:00.001-07:00

The kids got some bubbles in their Easter basket this year. I got some in a "no spill" container, and it actually works! The kids had fun blowing bubbles for awhile, and then getting to play with Jack and Kate. Kayleigh and Jack were playing with my phone in the grass, so I got a picture of the two of them talking. Someone called a phone number, and that person called back! I didn't realize they had called someone, so I was surprised that he called me back. Oops. At least it wasn't 911 again! (Brian did that to me a couple of months ago.)
Last night, Kayleigh and I went shoe shopping. We left the boys here to play by themselves and for Erik to put Brian to bed. Erik couldn't find Brian's jammies, so he put Brian in one of Kayleigh's big t-shirts that she'll wear to bed. I got a picture of him in the shirt this morning, and it's H-U-G-E! I'm glad I can say that about something on Brian. :) There is a picture of him in the slide show, but I though I should explain it...

Visit with Nick's family

2011-04-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

We got to see Nick, Robyn, Taylor and Caroline twice in the last week. They came to stay with us on their way down to and back from St. Pete. It's nice that we are a good stopping point, and that they would want to come and stay with us overnight. Kayleigh couldn't wait to see Taylor and hold Caroline! The big girls had fun playing upstairs and outside. Brian would tag along some, and other times just hang out with the rest of us. Caroline is SO good! She just smiled and made cute noises the whole time. Of course, it was also nice for Erik and me to get to visit with Nick and Robyn!

Busy day today

2011-04-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Today was Kayleigh's first trip to the dentist. Unfortunately, we got in on a cancellation, which meant her appointment was at 2:00--right at the beginning of nap time. We still went to the library for Story Time, and when we got home, we ate lunch and got ready to dye Easter eggs. Kayleigh had a lot of fun mixing the colors, although one egg started to look a little brown. At the end, Brian decided he wanted to give it a shot, so I let him drop eggs in a couple of the cups. We had just enough time after that activity to get ready for the dentist, so we had to do a quick clean up and go.

Oh, before I forget! Brian has been picking up a lot of words lately. I don't realize how many he has, either. At lunch, the kids had the choice of sharing either an apple or a pear. I asked Kayleigh what she wanted, and then she turned to Brian and asked, "Do you want an apple or a pear?" I promise the boy said "Apple". Actually, I got a video of him saying some of his words, so that should prove it to you. At the end of lunch, I asked Brian if he was all done, and he said his "Yeah!" that I need to get a video of. Then, I asked him if he could say "All done" using his hands for sign language. HE SAID IT!! Granted, it's not clear by any stretch of the means, but he definitely said it. It's on the video, too! I tried to show case most of his words on the video, but I forgot to get him to say "yeah". He also says, "mama" and "dada". There might be something else that I'm missing, but he doesn't have many more words than what you'll hear below.

So, off we went to the dentist. Kayleigh was a little worried about taking x-rays, which I thought was interesting. We have a Blue's Clues book about going to the dentist, and I hope it helped her. The hygienist was super nice, as was the dentist. Kayleigh wanted to bring one of her babies, which I thought was a good idea. Since it was our first time there, I got to go back with her. The hygienist brushed and flossed Kayleigh's teeth, after showing her what she was going to do on Kayleigh's doll. She gave Kayleigh some sunglasses to wear since it's such a bright light in her eyes. Later, Kayleigh asked me, "Why did she give me sunglasses? I could have closed my eyes." HA! The dentist said she would probably do x-rays at the next visit. Overall, Kayleigh's teeth look great! Brian had fun there, too, I think since he wasn't the one being checked. He made himself at home, taking off one shoe and sock. Then he wouldn't let me put them back on!
After going back to the reception area to check out, Kayleigh had to go BACK to see the dentist because she was trying to reach a little doodle pad thing, and clumsy as she is, tripped and hit her face on a table. I felt terrible because I didn't see it, but I heard the fall and when I looked around the corner I can see the look of pain on Kayleigh's face as she turned to run to me. Granted, she still had enough presence of mind to grab the doodle pad, so it couldn't have been too bad, but the receptionist said we might as well have the dentist check her out while we were there.
Poor Brian is exhausted from all of the excitement and the late hour, so he fell asleep on the way home and is upstairs sleeping now. Kayleigh is on a chair in the living room watching a movie. I told her she didn't have to go to sleep since it was already almost 3:30, but she did have to have quiet time. She said she wanted to watch a long kid's show, and I had recorded "Princess and the Frog" a couple of weeks ago, so she's watching that now.

Brian's 18 month check up

2011-04-14T07:02:00.000-07:00

Kayleigh and I took Brian to the doctor yesterday for his 18 month check up. This kid is smart, because he didn't even want to get on the examining table to get measured! He started kicking and screaming right away. That's also where he would get his shots later that morning. On the bright side, they were his last 2 shots until he's 5. Woohoo! Brian is still off the charts on his weight at 33 pounds. I keep saying, though, that he was 22 pounds at 4 months, so he's only gained 11 pounds in over a year. He's about 34 inches tall, which I think put him in the 88th percentile for height. So, he's tall and big.
On Tuesday, Brian woke up before 6 AM (YUCK!), so by the time we were on our way home from Kayleigh's dance class about 11:30, he was pooped! He fell asleep in the car on the way home, and actually stayed asleep while I carried him in and laid him on the couch. Kayleigh gave him her little bear to sleep with. Thankfully, he got a ltitle power nap then and still took a nap that afternoon.

Some pics

2011-04-12T06:23:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's almost the middle of April and I haven't posted anything yet! We were in St Pete a couple of weeks ago. It was a blast, as always. But, I didn't bring my camera, so I have no proof that we were there. Oops.
Kayleigh has been perfecting her forward roll. She loves doing it, and now Brian is starting to try. Neither kid wanted me to take their picture much last night, so I didn't get one of Brian. Kayleigh acts like some famous person not wanting the paparazzi taking her picture!

Kayleigh told Valerie this weekend that she wanted Valerie to get a picture of her with her new pink hat. She wanted Valerie to put it on her blog. Sorry, but I beat her to it! Kayleigh also has a bunch of new toys with her. She looked like a little bag lady.

A few nights ago the kids were in the bath when I realized that Brian was probably going to poop. I was excited that I was able to get him out of the tub and onto the toilet for him to do his business! Not so much last night...Last night he was standing up in the tub, and all of a sudden he had dropped a bomb. Of course, I started grabbing at Kayleigh to get her out of the tub. Then I got Brian and decided that Erik needed to finish their bath downstairs while I cleaned up the mess upstairs. After the bath, he looked so cute with his towel wrapped around him that I had to get a picture. Of course, he wouldn't stand still, so I think this is a little blurry. He kept running at the camera!

This morning, Brian was eating breakfast in our room. I had gone out to get another bowl of cereal for Kayleigh, and when I came back, Brian was climbing into our laundry basket. I gave him his food so he could eat in there. Brian is really working on his cheesy face. I basically have to take a picture of him, and then immediately snap another one. The first picture is always his cheesy face, and then the second picture is his smile because he's laughing about his first picture. Crazy kid!

Our new (to us) van!

2011-03-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

Our new van!

The back seats

The dash.

The DVD player (Kayleigh's favorite part after the doors you can open with a push of a button)

Erik and I sold our Pathfinder a couple of weeks ago, knowing that we wanted to get a new van. We didn't realize how long it would be before we had two vehicles again, and it's so nice to have our new car. We bought the van from a family who is over here in Florida from Italy. They are about to move back to Italy after being here for a year and working at the university. We got a great deal on the van, and picked it up from them today. While the kids napped (and after they woke up) I was outside cleaning up the inside of the van. I think Erik and Kayleigh might go out tonight to wash it. The van is a Kia Sedona, loaded with everything we could want, and then some. I'm ready to be a soccer mom now!

This is Brian's cheesy face that he was making at dinner

"The Golden Hour"

2011-03-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

That's what Jenna called the 7:00 hour this evening. She called me earlier today and asked if I wanted to take the kids to a park to play and have their pictures taken. Jenna takes some pretty amazing pictures, so I jumped at the chance to let the kids have some outside time and take some of my own pictures, too. I figure it's a good idea to practice taking pictures with someone else who can give me some tips. The kids had a great time out there together, and believe me, we took a LOT of pictures!

Home made pizza outside

2011-03-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

We were at Chili's last night and got to talking about making our own pizza. So, while grocery shopping today, I picked up the items needed for dinner tonight. Since it's getting darker later, Kayleigh and I made our pizzas (cheese for the kids and pepperoni for the adults) and after they cooked, we headed outside to eat. Erik is in the process of pressure-washing the house, so he also cleaned up our patio furniture. It was just the right temperature to be out, and there still aren't too many bugs out to bother us. In case you're wondering, Brian is shirtless because he was drinking out of my water bottle and soaked his shirt! I knew he would be messy at dinner, too, so I just let him keep the shirt off.
After dinner, Kayleigh pushed Brian on the swing for a little while, and then said she wanted to do a show for us. She played her air guitar and sang a song about her day. She's quite the entertainer!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

Since we actually had somewhere to go today (Mother's Morning Out), I got my kids dressed in green and sprayed their hair. Yesterday, Kayleigh and I were playing "Beauty Salon", and I pretended to paint her hair yellow. Luckily, I was smart enough to tell her I was painting her hair that color and not some other outrageous color that she would have busted me on. Since I had to go out last night and buy cookies for Mother's Morning Out, I decided to buy some color hair spray, too, and got both kids this morning. I thought Brian looked like a rock star, and Kayleigh was her cute self. I didn't think to take pictures of them until they were in the car, which is why they are posed there. Enjoy!

Gate River Run

2011-03-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

We went to Jacksonville this weekend to visit with Valerie's family and run another race. Erik did a 15K, while Valerie, Matt and I did a 5K. We asked Mom and Dad to come up as babysitters, and I think that's what Mom did for most of the weekend! Kayleigh wanted to come to the race, so we got her up early and Dad stayed with her while we ran. I forgot my watch, so I don't know my exact time, which is disappointing. I also think that if I had had it, I would have run a little faster since I could see along the way how I was doing. Valerie and Matt walked/ran it together. Kayleigh and I met them for the last .1 mile and ran in with them. (I'm not sure if they liked that or not, but we did it anyway!) After they finished, we went to the 15K finish line to see Erik come through. We made it with just a couple of minutes to spare, and Erik ran faster than he had predicted, coming in at 1:11.31 The Gate River run is HUGE in Jacksonville with 17,000 people running it. Erik said it was a good race, except for the on/off ramp that he had to go up. He said that was really hard and a lot of people ended up walking it.
We did some van shopping in the afternoon, but weren't able to find anything that matched what we wanted. Oh well. The search continues...We left after dinner Saturday night to drive home since we had to help out at church Sunday morning. So, it was a quick weekend, but well worth it.
To see pictures, you'll have to hop over to Valerie's blog. I forgot my camera. :(

Something new

2011-03-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

Last night, we went to WalMart to return a video we got from Red Box. While I was waiting to return my movie, I saw a little section of 50% off merchandise. Not being able to pass anything that might be on sale, I walked over to have a look. They had little motorized cars! I looked at the sticker price, and then went over to Customer Service to see if that was the original or sale price. It was the sale price, so I went running outside to ask Erik if I could buy a car for Brian. Brian has been riding his friend, Jack's, ATV for the last couple of weeks, so I thought he would like one of his own. So, for $25 (plus tax), we got Brian this cute little Iron Man car!
After Brian got a turn riding on it, Kayleigh wanted one. She started running over Erik's foot, and when Brian saw that, he ran over to step on Erik's foot. It was pretty funny, and once again shows how much younger siblings look up to the older ones!
While we were out playing, our neighbors came outside. It's so cute to see them all running to greet each other, but especially cute when Brian and Kate go running toward each other. Kate only gave Brian and Kayleigh a quick greeting, though. Then she went running for the car and her turn to ride!

Make sure you turn the volume on for this video. Brian is making his cute happy noise!

North Carolina

2011-02-15T05:29:00.000-08:00

Erik has wanted to go skiing since we got married. We finally decided to go on a trip to North Carolina that would provide both skiing and family time, since Erik has some cousins who live up there. We had such a good time with everyone, and Erik's cousin, Karen, is quite the hostess.
We left Thursday night and drove to Athens. Friday morning we woke up and drove the rest of the way to North Carolina, promising Kayleigh she would see snow when we got there. We were all surprised to see that most of the snow had melted since they were having a warm front this weekend. Kayleigh did get to see a patch of it in the yard when we got there. That night, we went to a Japanese restaurant and sat a the hibachi grill. Kayleigh thought it was pretty neat, but Brian was not too thrilled with the big flames.
On Saturday, the kids (13 and 14 year olds) had Saturday school to make up for one of their snow days. We headed to Beech Mountain to go sledding. We found a little hill that was designated 12 and under. Kayleigh was excited, but when she went down the hill with Karen and me, we got snow in her face when we dragged our boots. She did NOT like that, and I think you can see in a picture where she is covering her face. The little Snow Elf that you see in the picture is the closest we came to a snowman.
Saturday afternoon, Erik's cousin, Kathy, came over with her 2 youngest girls. After dinner, we went ice skating. Kayleigh is a perfectionist, I think, and was afraid to skate because she didn't want to fall down. She is quite the drama queen, too, and would yell, "WHOOOAA! WHOOAAA!!!" while going around the rink. I think you may be able to hear it on her skiing video.
On Sunday we finally made it to the slopes. Kayleigh really wanted to try skiing, and the price was right, so we got her out on the slopes. Again, she got out there and then said she didn't want to go because she was afraid she would fall. She watched Erik go down the bunny slope and eventually we got her out there. She never really got to ski all by herself, but she got to see what it was like.
Brian again was a trooper, hanging out while Kayleigh got to do the big stuff. He still got to play and was entertained by new toys and new friends.
Enjoy the pictures and videos!

Kayleigh ice skating. We got that bar for her, and I think it made it better for all of us for her to have it. She would only let us let her go at the end, though.

Brian entertaining himself while Erik skiied

Kayleigh skiing

Sleepy fellow

2011-02-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

We were on our way home from Publix this morning, and Kayleigh said something about Brian falling asleep with food in his mouth. I thought she meant the cracker that was on his cheek, but when I went to get him out of the car, he really did have cracker coming out of his mouth! I couldn't believe it! I took it out before I got Brian out of the car, because I didn't want him to choke.

The many faces of Kayleigh

2011-02-02T05:47:00.000-08:00

I was trying to take pictures of Brian using his fork like a big boy, but Kayleigh butted in, wanting me to take her picture. So, she gave me a bunch of looks, and here's what I got.

Yesterday morning, Kayleigh and Brian were sitting in our room plotting something, I'm afraid. I didn't get a good picture of the two of them sitting together talking, but this is a sweet one.

And here is Brian feeding himself and then looking very proud. And yes, that's a purple cup.

Play day

2011-01-29T13:29:00.000-08:00

We went to an outside museum with friends from church today. I didn't get many pictures of the animals because I've taken them before. It's not like they change that much! The kids had fun, and eventually we let Brian out so he could run around with the big kids. I think they had the most fun on the playground, and there they loved the swings. They both cried when we got them out to eat lunch. The weather here is BEAUTIFUL, and we're hoping it'll stay like this through next weekend.

Saturday morning

2011-01-22T11:47:00.001-08:00

We were upstairs playing for awhile while Erik (and Kayleigh, a little) cleaned Kayleigh's fish tank and hung up some new hooks in her room. Kayleigh was playing hide and seek and found this new place to hide.

Then, when Erik took his shoes off, Brian tried to put them on. He's definitely got a long way to go before he can fit into his daddy's shoes!

Tracy and Kayleigh

2011-01-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

It took a couple/three years for Tracy to really start to like Kayleigh, but she sure does now. She will sleep in Kayleigh's bed for part of the night or nap time, and today this is how the two of them were sitting and watching tv.

Then Brian decided to join in on the fun...

The Noise

2011-01-13T14:56:00.001-08:00

I know, I know...I don't post anything for weeks, and then I put up two posts in two days. BUT, I finally got Brian on camera doing the noise I was talking about in THIS post. This is the noise I used to do when I was younger and was angry. Brian does it whenever he wants to, no matter his mood. I also want to get a video of Brian making his "roaring" sound. You know he won't do it when I want him to! He was just doing it, but of course when I get the camera in his face he stops!

What we're up to...

2011-01-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

We haven't really been up to too much lately. I forgot to take my camera to St. Pete, so I don't even have pictures from then to show. Valerie does, though, so check out her blog for some pictures of her kid and mine.
Here are some pictures of the kids:

Brian is into throwing things away right now. He started this at my parents' house, and hasn't really stopped. So far, we don't think we've lost anything!

I had to take Brian to the doctor the day after Christmas. While I was gone, Erik and Kayleigh were playing a game. I'm not sure how it happened exactly, but Erik accidently scratched Kayleigh in the face. It was only a flesh wound, but Kayleigh needed a band aid on it, anyway. (The band aids never last! She will keep taking it off to show you her wound, and then it loses its stickyness.)

I had Brian back at the doctor's office last week for his 15 month check up. The boy weighs 31 pounds!!! I weighed Kayleigh at the office, and she weighed 36.4. On the doctor's percentile chart, he's back on top!! Woohoo!! My poor arms! :(

Kayleigh got some oranges from our youth pastor's tree, and has enjoyed eating them. I think she got the idea of putting it in her mouth like this from her father. You can see how funny Brian thinks it is.

Kayleigh gets a chocolate whenever she goes poo poo in the potty. This is a treat that I'm afraid she'll never give up! We have Tootsie Rolls right now, and she smiled at me after eating most of it this morning. I said, "Don't close your mouth! I have to get a picture of your teeth!" If you look closely, you can see the chocolate in between and even on some of her teeth. Someone started this in high school where you would put food on your teeth right before taking a picture. It looks like we are starting the next generation on this tradition. :)

Christmas morning

2010-12-25T10:40:00.000-08:00

Maybe I need to start a little earlier than this morning. This year, Kayleigh has learned about Santa, and the gifts that he brings. We were with friends the other night and decorated cookies for him. Last night, she wanted to put out all of the cookies except for one, which she wanted to try and make sure it tasted okay. :) She also wanted to go to bed about 6:30 last night so he would come and deliver her presents. We did get her to go to sleep and she didn't get up until almost 8 this morning. Too bad Brian was up before 7! She was so excited to see that Santa ate the cookies she left out for him and that he left some presents for her.
I made muffins this morning, and Kayleigh got up right when I took them out of the oven. Obviously she didn't want to wait to open presents, so we let the muffins cool while we tore open our gifts. And by "our", I mean "their". We did make Kayleigh wait her turn between gifts, so it wouldn't go by too quickly. One thing she wanted was a new sound machine like what Brian has in his room, and she started screaming in delight when she opened it. She also got a scooter from Nana, and a Leapfrog Tag from my parents, along with Tag books from Valerie and Matt. Brian got a dump truck from Nana, smaller toys and some puzzles from us.
After presents, we ate and then the kids played with some of their new stuff. Jenna called a little while later and said they were getting ready to go outside. Jack also got a scooter, so he and Kayleigh got to play with them and then run off some of their energy. It's been a good day so far. I need to stop blogging and go make homemade macaroni and cheese to take to Christmas dinner. YUM!

Catching up with pictures

2010-12-23T11:19:00.001-08:00

A little over a month ago, Erik and I (mostly me since I do the laundry) were getting fed up with Kayleigh having accidents at nap time. She has a door from her bedroom to the bathroom, and Erik and I had both told her that it would be fine if she went in there. After being completely fed up with it, Erik and I came up with a treat chart for her. We told Kayleigh that for each week she went without an accident, she could get a small treat. At the end of 4 weeks, she could have a big party. Kayleigh wanted to name the chart "Kayleigh's ACCIDENT treat chart". I heard her say "Kayleigh's EXCELLENT treat chart". Oops! Anyway, for her treats, we made cookies, cupcakes, got ice cream, and then the big party was a smoothie/movie party.

After grocery shopping on Monday, I was trying to put everything away, and Brian thought he found the coolest new seat, ever! It took awhile for me to get him to move. I think I pulled him away by bribing him with food. Works every time!

Kayleigh has said she wants two things from Santa. One, a Dora pillow like her cousin, Taylor and two, a sound machine like Brian has. Santa came a little early in the form of Jenna, and Kayleigh got the first thing on her list. Jenna had the fabric already, and even though she had other plans for it, she changed to make Kayleigh's day. She gave it to Kayleigh yesterday, and Kayleigh was so excited to get it on her bed last night! Jenna also made another pillowcase dress and a small, travel pillow. As soon as it warms up again, I have big plans to get Kayleigh in the dress. It's super cute!

Okay, this last thing is hard to explain, but some of you will get it, and others will have to wait until you see Brian again to truly understand. When I was little and would get mad, Mom always said the worst thing I could do to someone is breathe really hard at them. Brian does the same breathing thing, but he just does it randomly, mostly when he's being silly. This picture is to show what he looks like when he does it. It cracks me up!

Gingerbread Man House

2010-12-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

I decided to do a Gingerbread House with Kayleigh this year after Jenna and Jack made their own. I figured if they could do it, so could we! Kayleigh called it a "Gingerbread Man House", and we just went with it. We bought the kit today and made the house tonight. You can tell that I'm no architect, especially since the house didn't stand up long. Even before we finished, the roof was sliding off the side! It was okay, though, because Kayleigh couldn't wait to dig in. As you can see from the pictures, we enjoyed our Gingerbread Man House a lot! YUM!

Christmas party and lights

2010-12-14T17:40:00.000-08:00

Sunday night was the Christmas party for Erik's work. This is the kids party where Santa comes and gives the kids a gift and goodie bucket. They also get to go in all of the bounce houses and be crazy for awhile. After the party, we went to a local park to see their Christmas lights. Kayleigh is really getting into Christmas this year, so that's fun. We're trying to remind her that we also need to remember Jesus' birthday, and the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

Breakfast in Bethlehem

2010-12-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning, our church had "Breakfast in Bethlehem" for the little ones. Kayleigh remembers it from seeing pictures of last year and was excited to go back. We had a good breakfast, and then let the kids do some crafts and take pictures at the manger scene. One of Kayleigh's friends was there, and she was dressing up as a shepherd, so that's what Kayleigh wanted to be, too. Then, she wanted to hold baby Jesus (that's a big desire of hers right now), so Shirley got the idea of saying Kayleigh was Mary instead of a shepherd.
It's amazing how much more Brian is walking from even a week ago. He wanted to get down on the ground and be with the big kids. He can walk across the room and even turn corners or turn around if he needs to. I'm very excited because 1.) he's heavy and 2.) that means he'll be able to start going to Mother's Morning Out with Kayleigh very soon.
Tonight we are going to a Christmas party for Erik's work. This is the kids party, so we'll get to see Santa and play. Kayleigh talks about Santa, and even knows a couple of things that she wants for Christmas this year, but I'm not sure that she'll talk to him when she sees him in person. I'll get pictures of that posted later this week.

Meeting Caroline

2010-12-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

After two months of waiting, we finally got to go to Mobile to meet Caroline. Kayleigh loves holding babies, and she couldn't wait to hold her cousin. Unfortunately, when we got there, Caroline was sleeping, so Kayleigh had to wait awhile to get to hold her. Luckily, she had Taylor to play with and keep her mind off of it. Taylor and Kayleigh get along really well, and it's fun watching them run around together.
On Saturday, we went to Bass Pro Shops to meet Santa and do some crafts, plus walk around a little bit. We had to get a "Meet Santa" pass, and the earliest one we could have gotten was for 3:00. That's right in the middle of nap time, not to mention it was only noon when we were there, and there was no way we were waiting 3 hours to meet the big guy, not knowing how the girls would react when they got up close and personal. After Bass, we decided to go to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. Yum! Brian was poopy, and when I went to change him he'd had a blow out. OH NO! Luckily, we were in Alabama, so we walked out of the bathroom with Brian in no clothes and our heads held high like we were from there. I don't think anyone looked twice! We had to leave after dinner Saturday night. It was a quicker trip than we would have liked, but everything was so nice!

Caught on camera!

2010-11-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

I went to wake Brian up from his nap this morning because I'm afraid he won't take another one again this afternoon. This is what he looked like when I went up to his room. I quietly backed out and ran downstairs for the camera, crossing my fingers that he wouldn't move or wake up while I was gone. He didn't, and he even stayed asleep for a little while after I took the picture.

Outside playtime

2010-11-26T16:59:00.000-08:00

We took the kids outside to play today after being cooped up for a couple of days with a stomach bug that's going around. Erik was home today, so I grabbed my camera to take pictures of what was going on. I love taking pictures of Brian since he is still pretty still outside and I can just click away. He doesn'tlike to crawl around in the grass, so he is easy to keep track of. Kayleigh wanted to kick her soccer ball around for a little while and then once Erik started raking leaves, she wanted to jump in his piles. I got some fun shots of her jumping. Thankfully, we were able to get the piles cleaned up right as it started to rain. The rain came at the perfect time, because the kids needed to get inside for naps.

Brian walking!

2010-11-21T15:36:00.000-08:00

FINALLY! Brian has been pulling up like crazy and will walk all around a room while holding on to something, but yesterday he finally let go. It happened yesterday afternoon while we were in the living room playing. Brian was holding on to something and then let go to take the couple of steps he would need to get to Erik on the couch. Kayleigh wasn't watching, so she got scared when I screamed for joy. I immediately grabbed her so I could tell her why I yelled. Brian has done it quite a few times since then. I have hoped that he would be walking by January so I can start him at Mother's Morning Out with Kayleigh. She goes once a week, and I would love to have those few hours to myself, rather than figure out what I can do with Brian in tow.

Brian has also started saying the word "no" lately, even though it doesn't usually apply to what we're talking about. I think it's hilarious and will try to get him to say it. I know, I know, that's going to come back to haunt me, but for now I get a good laugh out of it. He's not too clear in his words in either video, but they're cute, and he's making some cute faces, so I thought I would go ahead and post them.

Play time last night

2010-11-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of videos of the kids playing last night. The one game of hide and seek was rowdier before I got the camera out. I don't know why it got so much quieter once I came around!

The video of Brian walking is proof that he can do it, but won't do it on his own. Erik and I have been working with him this week, standing him up and then letting him go. Sometimes he'll stand for a couple of seconds before tipping over. When we were outside playing today, Brian was standing up for longer periods, and even took a drink while standing! Jenna was there as a witness!

Play date

2010-11-11T14:24:00.000-08:00

We went on a play date with some friends today since she had the day off. Last month we were supposed to get together to take the kids to the park, but Valerie went into labor and I had to cancel the plans at the last minute. Today was beautiful, so naturally we were not the only ones with the great idea to go to the park. Thankfully all of the big kids were well behaved and we didn't have any problems. I always get nervous when I see a lot of older kids at the playground because they don't look out for the little ones. The kids had fun running around (those who could!) and Brian hung out and watched from his perch. I was able to get him to slide down a little slide a few times and get him on a swing, but for the most part, Kayleigh was running from place to place too quickly for him to get to sit somewhere and play. Just another reason for him to start walking, I guess.
Speaking of walking, my mom asked me this earlier, and I guess others may have the same question. Brian will pull up and cruise around using a walker, or walk along something, so he's on his way to walking, but he doesn't want to let go even to take a teeny tiny step from one thing to another. This week, Erik and I have started standing him up more and then letting go. He can stand for a couple of seconds before he crumbles to the ground. I know everyone says that they regret wanting their kids to walk, but come one! Brian is 13 months old and he weighs 27 pounds! You lug him around for a day and see if you're not begging for him to walk! :)
Anyway, here are just a couple of pictures from our day:

Fun times

2010-11-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

Kayleigh had some pretty good stories yesterday. They all cracked me up, even the one she told after getting hurt. Here you go:

Story #1:
We were at WalMart and Kayleigh let me give her a kiss on the lips. I guess I shocked her, although I didn't feel it, and she said, "You just poked a hole in my lip!" Sorry!

Story #2:
We were outside playing, and Kayleigh wanted to play golf. She has some very interesting rules to her golf game. Here's how it went: One person (either her or me) had to sit on the bricks at the end of the driveway, and the other person had to be across from that person in the grass to hit the ball. The rule was that you had to say, "Ready, set, go" and then hit the golf ball as far as you could. If you hit the ball far enough (which we always did) you got a home run and had to run around the yard. After that, it was your turn to sit in the bricks and "watch tv". I'm not sure what sport Erik has taught her, but it surely wasn't me!

Story #3:
Kayleigh was sliding off of our bed and went to get something for Erik behind his night stand. I'm not sure how she did it, but somehow she hurt her thigh and her head. Yes, that was the sad part, but it was sweet when she said, "I never want to do that again!"

Jacksonville visit

2010-11-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

We went to Jacksonville so the rest of the family could meet Robbie. I'll say that I'm not sure Brian was aware of him most of the time, and was content to do his own thing. Kayleigh, on the other hand, couldn't wait to get her hands on the baby! You will see a picture in the slide show with Kayleigh's head thrown back telling Aunt Val how excited she was to get to see Robbie. (Look for the picture that says, "story" on it. That's the one I'm talking about. And I'm not sure how Matt got stuck holding Brian's cup!) We got pictures of the kids together Saturday night after Kayleigh and Brian's bath. I don't know why, but Brian decided to initiate Robbie into the family by smacking him in the face. I hope his other cousins are more kind!
We mostly hung out at the house while we were there, which is what I expected. Erik and I took the kids to Target Saturday morning because Kayleigh was complaining of a stomach ache. When we were in the car, she said she felt better, so we didn't get any medicine, but we got some other cute things. Someone brought dinner over for us on Friday night, and then Matt made his famous chicken wings Saturday night. YUM! We left around 10 on Sunday morning to make sure we got back here in time for Erik to do a long run and for the kids to play for a little while before having to take naps. It was a fun weekend and we (especially Kayleigh) can't wait for another visit.

Kayleigh's first race

2010-10-30T10:09:00.001-07:00

I know that back in May, Kayleigh got a medal for finishing this race, but today she actually ran a whole race. We told her beforehand that she was allowed to run or walk, but she couldn't stop. I know we stopped once to put on her sweatshirt, I think she walked for a minute, and one time she sat down, but that was because she had seen some other girls do it. She finished the race in 17 minutes. Wow!
The race was at Jack's church (Kayleigh's friend). There was a character there to cheer everyone on. I think people were calling him BB, so that's the name we'll go with. Kayleigh saw him before we started the race (he was at the starting line) and she started to freak out. She's not big on people dressed up in huge constumes like that. We thought she wasn't going to run at first. Erik had to carry her past the starting line before she would let him put her down for her to run. She did so well, and at the end of the race, we had to run through the church's parking lot to get to the finish line. Thankfully, the sun was in Kayleigh's eyes, so she couldn't see BB standing at the finish line. I was behind Kayleigh a couple of feet trying to signal to BB to get out of her line of vision. She made it until about 10 feet before the finish line before she saw him and did an about face to try to run in the opposite direction. I held her hand and got her to go past him. Later, Erik and Kayleigh talked about BB and not being afraid of him. After Erik ran the 5K, she went up to him and gave him a high five. After the two races, the church had a Fall Festival, so we went over there to play for awhile. You need to watch the video of Kayleigh going down the huge slide. Erik and I thought for sure she was going to freak out at the top, but she did great, and then wanted to go again!
We were hungry from all of the excitement, so we decided to finish off the morning's fun with lunch at Chick-Fil-A. YUM!

Fire station

2010-10-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Jenna had an idea to take the kids to a local fire station to see the trucks and talk to some firefighters. Jack is into it, so Jenna asked if I thought Kayleigh would like it as well. Kayleigh likes anything Jack does, so we were definitely up for the outing. Jenna also wanted to make a cookie cake and have the kids decorate it for the firemen as a thank you for letting us come by and for all of their work.
When we got to the fire station, a lady firefighter pulled out a truck and showed the kids all of the different parts of the truck. I think most of it went right over their heads, but it was still interesting. She asked if Kayleigh and Jack wanted to climb up in the truck. Kayleigh said yes, and went running for the truck. Then she heard Jack say no, so she changed her mind. Later we were able to get Jack to get in the truck, but I think he didn't like how high it was, so didn't want to stay long. They did like getting into the volunteer fire truck. It was much smaller and less intimidating.
Jack wanted to go see the ambulance, so we were able to look inside of it and she told us about all of the tools they keep in it. Kayleigh asked Jack if he wanted to get in it and started marching up to climb in. Unfortunately, they weren't allowed to get in it because the EMTs weren't there to supervise and the lady didn't want to get in trouble.
At the end, the kids got Junior Firefighter stickers and coloring books. I know they had fun, and Kayleigh is already asking when we can go back.

The Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

We made our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday. I was frustrated because the kids didn't want to smile AND look at the camera for pictures. I think I got a couple of good ones, though. We ended up staying a little longer than we planned since we ran into some friends, and Kayleigh wanted to stay and play. Once the ponies were unloaded, we had to stay and wait in line for Kayleigh to have her chance to ride one. I don't think she wanted to ride the smallest one, but I had warned her that was a good possibility, and that was the one she ended up on. I knew once the ride started she would be fine, and of course she loved it! Some day we'll have to get her on a horse that does something other than walk around in circles. :)

12 month check up

2010-10-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

Brian had his 12 month appointment today and it went well. He's 26.6 pounds, putting him at the 90th percentile for weight. I'm glad that he's gained a couple of pounds because he was 24 pounds at 6 months! He's also 31 inches tall, which is the 80th percentile for height. It looks like he's going to be tall like his Daddy! Thank goodness because I do NOT want him to be short like me!
On the plus side, Briand didn't get any immunizations today. On the down side, it's because he has an ear infection. He got a cold this last weekend, and the doctor thinks that the ear infection is a result of that. He'll go back to the doctor in 3 weeks to make sure the medicine worked on his little ear, and if it's all cleared up, he'll get his shots that day. Hopefully this will be a quick fix, unlike Kayleigh who suffered from ear infections for months when she was a baby.
Jenna and I took the kids to a state park to watch the Monarch butterfly migration today. We must have really worn them out because it's almost 5:00 PM and both of my kids are still asleep!!! Ahhh!!! Enjoy the quiet! :)
P.S. I just checked Kayleigh's growth chart to see when she measured 31 inches. I didn't have any on that in mark, but she was 32 inches at TWO YEARS OLD!!! Brian is almost a whole year ahead of her!

Brian's birthday pics

2010-10-12T10:08:00.001-07:00

Pictures from Brian's birthday. Don't forget to keep scrolling down for pictures from our weekend in Atlanta!

Atlanta

2010-10-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

Erik and I decided that we wanted to take a vacation, but not anywhere too far from home. We went to Atlanta last weekend, leaving Thursday before 2PM and returning Sunday around 6. It was the perfect amount of time to be away from home. Kayleigh loved staying in the hotel and sleeping on the pull-out couch. We stayed in a 1 bedroom suite so that Erik and I wouldn't have to go to bed at the same time as the kids, although I think we were all in bed and asleep at the same time on Saturday night!
Here's a breakdown of the weekend:
Thursday evening: We got to the hotel around 8, checked everything out and got the kids into bed. Not too exciting...

Friday: We took the kids to the Georgia Aquarium. Both of them loved seeing the fish. The Aquarium is AMAZING, and I'm so glad we went! I'm just sorry that Brian won't remember it, because I'm sure it's going to be awhile before we make it back there again. My favorite part was the penguins. Kayleigh liked the touch pool with the sharks and stingrays. She also liked watching the scuba diver cleaning one of the tanks! I HIGHLY recommend it if anyone is debating whether or not to go. We got the kids back for naps that afternoon, and that evening just went over to the mall for some quick dinner, because Erik and I were too tired to sit for long at a restaurant. Pitiful, huh? Especially since it was really the one night we could have taken advantage of going to a restaurant that's not local.

Saturday: We weren't really sure what to do in the morning, but finally decided to go to Ikea. Who wouldn't want to spend their Saturday morning there?? My favorite buy was an egg slicer. I've wanted one for awhile, although I've never looked very hard for one. After another round of naps, we took the kids over to Stone Mountain to ride to the top of the mountain and then stay for the laser show. Brian was ready for bed, but couldn't sleep, so he didn't really enjoy it so much. Kayleigh liked the laser show, but didn't like the accompanying fireworks.

Sunday: We ate breakfast at the hotel and then packed up and got ready to leave. Before leaving Atlanta, though, we went over to Centennial Park so the kids could play for awhile and get rid of some energy before the 5 hour drive home. We had kind of decided not to let Kayleigh play in the fountains because we didn't bring any towels with us. Of course, that wouldn't do for her, and eventually we let her play in them in her clothes. She air dried on the way back to the car and we got her into some dry clothes. Erik was brave enough to go in with her, so he also had to change back at the car.

We had a wonderful time away from home, and we are excited to go on another family vacation. I think these shorter vacations are much better for us than longer ones. It's just the right amount of time to be away from home and our responsibilities. I will say that I already miss being somewhere else where people come in and clean my room, cook my meals and wash my dishes!

I realized yesterday that I can download pictures onto this computer, so I can show you pictures from the weekend.

Brian's birthday party

2010-10-04T06:11:00.000-07:00

We had family over Saturday night to celebrate Brian's birthday. Kayleigh couldn't understand why Brian got 3 birthday parties. (We celebrated in Jacksonville, had muffins on his actual birthday and then Saturday night.) I told her that she has had multiple birthday parties before, especially when she was in school. Jenna gave me the idea to do tacos for everyone, and it was a hit. Brian did quite a number on his cake, although I think he got some help finding the cake under all of the icing. He let him go at it for a few minutes before I decided I better take it away from him. Amanda helped me wipe him down, so he didn't get a bath until after the party.
I realized last night that I can't post pictures yet. We are borrowing a computer from Erik's work because the screen on our laptop is broken. We're shipping it off to get fixed, but in the mean time, I can't pull up pictures from my camera because this computer won't allow you to attach USB cables. So, I hope the description will be enough for now.

One year old!

2010-09-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

It's it really possible that a whole year has gone by since I had my baby boy??? Time flies when you're having fun! Erik and I talked about leaving Brian rear facing until he's a little older, since doctors are recommending that nowadays, but his feet are already starting to touch the back of the seat, so we decided to turn his carseat around. I actually let him ride forward facing last night, because my car was in the shop, and we were trading carseats from one car to another, so I figured doing it a few hours early won't hurt...and it didn't hurt him at all! We took Kayleigh to her play date this morning, and I was telling her that the car ride was the same one she took when she first rode in the car looking forward rather than backward.
Here are some changes from last month to this month:
--Every time Brian is near something tall, he pulls himself up to a standing position. He still crawls everywhere, but he's working on strengthening his leg muscles so he can walk soon.
--Brian will take steps while you're holding his hands, or when he's standing behind a walker.
--He learned the sign for "more", and then a few days later conquered the sign for "drink". I think next week he'll be fluent in sign language! (I hope I can keep up!! :) )
--I nursed him for 364 days. Whew! I thought I would try yesterday to see how long I could go without nursing him. I thought one of us would break down and he would get some Mommy milk, but he did fine without it. The time that I worried about it the most was bedtime last night, because it's part of our routine. He did fine. I think he wanted to nurse, but I didn't let him and he went to sleep.
--I know he's trying to tell us things, as he's being more and more talkative. We're practicing "Uh oh", but so far he's only gotten "uh". :) One of his favorite words is "do" like the beginning of dog.
--After being in 12 month clothing for the last 6 months, he is finally needing to wear 18 month clothes. I'm glad because I'm getting tired of him wearing the same outfits all the time. I'm ready to get sick of some new outfits.

Here are Brian's months pictures from this last year:

2010-09-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

After practicing "more" in sign language with Brian since he started eating baby cereal, Brian FINALLY signed it to me this morning. He was eating Cheerios in his high chair while I was in the kitchen getting my breakfast ready. I heard him talking (you can hear it on the video). When I turned around, he was signing "more". I was so excited because we have been practicing the sign forever, and I was afraid he was never going to sign it for me! I thought he figured he saying it with his own words was what he thought would suffice. We're now going to work on "milk"/"drink". Oh, he started drinking cows milk on Sunday. I know it's a little before his first birthday, but he's not nursing much, and he was going crazy drinking water all the time. I figured milk was better than just water.

Brian's first hair cut

2010-09-17T14:28:00.001-07:00

I have been talking for a couple of weeks about Brian's hair getting long and wanting to cut it. I finally bought some clippers today, and after Erik got home from work this afternoon, we decided to do it. Brian sat really still and took it all in stride. Thank goodness! I would like to be able to clip it for awhile and not have to pay $10-$15 per hair cut! I also need to give Kayleigh's bangs a trim (since two people have said it in the last 24 hours) and Erik is ready for a hair cut as well. I should probably get mine trimmed soon, too, but I'm not ready for that yet. I think I want it to grow a little longer.
The slide show wasn't letting me get the code to enter it in this post, so you'll have to click on this link to get it: Brian's first haircut

Peek-a-boo

2010-09-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

Brian likes to play Peek-a-boo, but I am never able to catch it on camera. He cooperated the other day during lunch time, so here is a cute video of him playing. Actually, most of the time he plays with his clothes, or some other cloth-type material. This may have been the first time he used his hands, now that I think about it.

Kayleigh's swimming lesson

2010-09-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

Kayleigh has been taking swimming lessons for most of the summer with our friend, Emma. I decided to take the camera today to get a couple of videos of her swimming. She can swim by herself, but not very far. She hasn't gotten down how to swim parallel to the pool so she can keep herself going. Sometimes she looks like she's riding a bicycle and doesn't go anywhere. Emma is great with her, and we have appreciated all of the work that she has done with Kayleigh. We can't believe that she's even able to go a short distance on her own!

In this next video, I only caught the tail end of Kayleigh swimming on her back. I tried to get the whole thing, but I realized halfway through that I had somehow hit the record button before she started swimming, and then when she started, I turned the recording off. Thankfully, she was showing off at the end.

This last video is of Kayleigh jumping in the pool. She has one hand on her hip, and is counting to three with with the fingers on her other hand. Enjoy!

Almost one!

2010-08-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

Brian had a good month this month. He is on the move, and has started pulling up every chance he gets. He also:
--Eats like a grown man. I can hardly keep up with him! He practically eats full meals with us, and then I can still nurse him.
--Got two more teeth this month, for a total of 8.
--Sleeps like a champ. He still wakes up during the night a lot of the time, but he takes amazing naps. I don't think he'll be ready to only take one nap a day next month.
--Is able to crawl over and up things. It's crazy how quickly he went from crawling just a little bit at the beginning of the month to being able to climb over our legs to get something, or get up on the bricks in front of the fireplace.
--Is unlike Kayleigh and likes to get into everything. We have to keep a constant eye on him to make sure he doesn't knock over one of the dog's water bowls. That's a favorite pasttime of his.

What we've been up to...

2010-08-25T18:06:00.001-07:00

I have been bad about blogging this past couple of weeks. I need to get myself back into it, I guess. Two weekends ago, Valerie and I took Kayleigh and Brian to visit Nick and his family. If you would like to read about the weekend, you can check out Valerie's blog or Nick's blog. It was a great weekend, and the girls got along so well. Taylor said she didn't want Kayleigh to leave. It's fun now that all of the nieces are old enough to remember each other.

After that weekend, I watched my friends' son for them while they had pre-planning at their schools. He didn't start day care until this week. We had a blast with him here, and Kayleigh said on Friday that she would miss having him at our house. While I love this little boy, it was a reminder that preschool/day care is not the age I'm suited to be around all the time. The craziest thing was when Kayleigh sat on her little car, and her friend got up behind it and started pushing her around the house!! He just turned one and Kayleigh is 3!!! Of course, Kayleigh loved it, and it's what she wanted him to do every day. The kids had a blast together, and I learned what a good helper Kayleigh is. I took her out for a special treat on Friday to thank her for all of her help that week.

Last Saturday we went down to St. Pete for Valerie's first baby shower and our niece's birthday. Valerie made out like a bandit, and I truly don't think they're going to have to spend any money on this baby!! She'll have another shower next month, and we'll head over to Jacksonville for that one as well. While we were in St. Pete, Mom and Dad had everyone over to celebrate Mia's birthday. Jonathan and Chat brought a princess cake over, and had a princess balloon for Kayleigh to bring home. I didn't bring my camera down, so I don't have any pictures to post.

Brian is moving around like crazy! We went to Story Time at the library this morning, and he was all over the place. First, he tried to steal a lady's drink that was on the floor. Then, he saw a girl eating Cheerios, and it was amazing how he just locked in on her bowl and started crawling for it! Then, he saw another kid's sippy cup in his diaper bag and tried to snag it. He also tried to climb up onto the stage (it's only a few inches off of the floor) and I think he would have succeeded if I hadn't grabbed him. This was his first Story Time he went to where he could crawl, and he was taking full advantage of his mobility.

Haiti video

2010-08-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a link that the church made of the Haiti trip. http://www.vimeo.com/13979557
It was played at the beginning of the service yesterday. I know that one of the pictures shows a pile of 2 x 4s. The group said that it was what they walked up on when they got to the work sites in order to build the shelters. Luckily, the guides that were there to help knew what to do. One story that I was told (this is Lisa writing, by the way) was that there were 2 or 3 Haitians that were there to help each group. Haitian helper #1 might go about building the shelter a little differently than helper #2, and the teams had to adapt to whoever the leader was at that chosen time. Leadership might switch hands part way through the build, and the team would have to readjust their thinking according to how that leader wanted the shelter built. I know the teams were just thankful that someone knew what they were doing, and were glad to adapt their strategies.

Haiti Trip

2010-08-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

Some of you know that I recently went on a mission trip to Haiti with a group from our church. I have been back a week now, and it's been a busy week which has been hard since my thoughts keep going back to Haiti. So I want to finally share a little bit about my trip.

Let's start from the beginning, the flight to Port Au Prince had a different feel. Almost everyone on the flight were going to help. There were at least 5 different large groups with matching colorful shirts like ours from various organizations. There were people coming to work at clinics, teach English classes, people coming to help supply clean water, and there were several soldiers coming to keep security or to work on engineering projects.

Flying in I didn't have a window seat so all I could see out the window was the beautiful landscape of the mountains and ocean. The airport has clues of the earthquake, cracks in walls and an impromptu military base on the air fields. But the amount of destruction doesn't hit you until you step outside of the airport.

I had an idea in my head of what it might be like from the pictures and news reports I had seen, but seeing it in person was a totally different experience. The destruction and living conditions for the people there are indescribable, but I will try anyways. Here are just a few pictures that our group took.

There were buildings toppled including the presidential palace, but the saddest part is all the tent cities and shelters put up wherever they can, including right next to roads or even in medians. It isn't just a few isolated areas, but the whole area. And I believe it would be a catastrophe if a hurricane were to hit there this season.

We stayed in Gressier, Haiti at the Joy House (haitijoyhouse.org). So we had an hour and a half ride in a retired Tampa school bus, even though it was only about 25 miles away. The road conditions and driving are scary.

There were 15 in our group so we divided into 3 teams and worked with pastors in their neighborhoods building Samaratan's purse shelters. They were 12'x12' wood framed shelters with tin roofs and wrapped with a tarp. No creature comforts but there is a waiting list to get them, based on need. The hillsides are dotted with the signature blue shelters. Our teams were able to build 24 in the week.

It was great working with the Haitian teams to build them and we formed some great relationships with them. The families and the neighbors in the areas often chipped in too. It was great having some opportunities to interact with the kids, because they were curious about us outsiders.

Along with building the shelters my team also cleared debris from a home site, so they could start to rebuild. The site could have probably been cleared in half a day with heavy machinery, but we did it the old fashioned way with sledge hammers, shovels, and wheelbarrows. It took us 2 and a half days with lots of help. It was definitely the hardest work we did down there.

This is long enough, so I think I will sum up the experience by saying the biggest thing I took away from the trip is how blessed we are to have homes, plenty of food, and A/C. We take so much for granted, and even complain about any little inconvenience. I was truly affected by what the people of Haiti have been through and the living conditions of so many there now. They need our prayers and our help. If you have the opportunity to contribute in any way, please do so because we have so much and they have so little.

On the move!

2010-08-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

After months of begging, pleading, and bribing, Brian has finally decided to crawl! We were upstairs playing, and while Kayleigh wasn't paying attention, I watched Brian move. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it until I knew for sure that he was crawling. After watching him do it a few times, I told Kayleigh to watch so I had another witness. Then we called Erik to tell him the good news. I took a bunch of videos, and unfortunately the one I think is the best is the one with Kayleigh talking ugly. If you don't want to hear it, mute the volume and watch Brian go!

Brian's 10 month pictures

2010-08-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, Brian wasn't really in the mood to take pictures today. Oh, and the pictures are a couple of days late since we were in St. Pete on the 30th, and then I forgot about them when we got home. Brian still isn't crawling yet, but he gets himself around! While at my parents' house, he managed to squeeze himself between the couch and the end table so he could get the lamp cord behind the table. He likes to play peek-a-boo. That's a fun game! Brian has been able to stand himself up a couple of times, and will stay standing if you put him in that position. He got really good at going from laying down to sitting while we were gone.

Sleeping beauty

2010-08-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

After the first picture I took of Kayleigh, she decided that she liked having her picture taken while she slept. I got another good one of the dogs sleeping with her. They NEVER sleep with her, so it was cute to see the three of them together. You will see one picture where Kayleigh is sleeping across MY pillow. (It has the pink flowers on the pillow case.) There was enough room for me to have one of the corners, so I didn't worry about it. When Brian woke up in the middle of the night, though, Kayleigh shifted and then was taking up the whole pillow. I took her picture to document it, and then moved her. I think I said something like, "Oh Kayleigh!", more to myself than to her. She was still asleep, but said, "What Mommy?" I just let her be. In the morning, I showed her the pictures and told her the story about how she took my pillow. She said, "I'm sorry I took your pillow Mommy." So sweet!

Mom bob, and my kids

2010-07-27T16:30:00.001-07:00

I finally got my hair cut to donate it to Pantene's hair charity. I'm really excited about my new 'do, thanks to Jill's boyfriend, Jason. I have been ready to cut my hair for a little while, mostly since this month when it's been unbearably hot outside!
I am also posting a couple of cute pictures of the kids. One is of Kayleigh with a flower in her hair at our favorite Thai restaurant. The other is of Brian having a good time in the bath tonight.

Pictures

2010-07-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying our time here with my family. On Sunday, my dad cut the grass with his riding lawn mower. (Or mow lawner, as Kayleigh calls it!) When he finished, he let Kayleigh sit up with him and go for a ride. She liked it and got to drive all by herself!

Last night, we went to Jonathan and Chat's place for a yummy dinner. Chat ALWAYS makes good food! Valerie came into town for dinner, rather than waiting until this morning to make the trip. See, Chat's food is that good! After dinner, Dad and I took Brian home to get him to bed while Kayleigh stayed with Mia and Nathan to go swimming. Mom, Valerie and Kayleigh got home around 9, and we got to Kayleigh to bed as quickly as possible so Valerie and I could play Farkle, our favorite dice game. When I was getting ready for bed, I snuck into Kayleigh's room to check on her. This is how she was sleeping:

Meeting cousin Ryan

2010-07-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

My cousin's daughter, Ryan, was born on April 22nd. We were finally able to meet her tonight. Kayleigh has been excited about it forever (at least 3 months), and couldn't wait to hold her tonight. We got some good shots of her and Brian with their newest cousin.
We were invited to Barbara and Jack's house for dinner and a visit with Ryan, plus my cousin Scott, and his two kids. Dinner was DELICIOUS, as was dessert (Kayleigh's favorite part of any meal.) Kayleigh liked playing with the "big boys", and asked where they were whenever they left the room. Hopefully they helped her get some energy out so we can go to bed soon. I'm pooped after a long day!
Please pray for Erik and his team as they are in Haiti this week tearing down houses from the earthquake. We know that they got there safely, and will get updates throughout the week.

He did it!

2010-07-17T05:11:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh! Erik and I were sitting in the living room this morning with Brian on the floor in front of his new kitchen crawl through thing from Jenna's sister-in-law. Erik and I were talking, and all of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brian rising to a standing position! By himself!!! I asked Erik how long he thought Brian would stay standing or how he would get himself down. He stood there long enough for me to make a couple of videos, and then tried to reach over to the other side of the kitchen. That's when the fall happened. He isn't long enough to make it to the other side, and did a big tumble. He's over it now and is back to playing.

New lawn mower

2010-07-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

Our lawn mower is very old, and Erik decided that he wanted a new, electric one. He looked online and got a good deal, so went ahead and ordered it a couple of weeks ago. He got in on Tuesday, but just got a chance to use it today. He said it was exciting for the first five minutes--after that it was just another day mowing the lawn. :)
Brian was acting silly in his chair while we were outside suffering the humidity with Erik. Here are a couple of shots of him:

Here's a short video of Erik mowing the grass so you can hear the quiet!

Busted!

2010-07-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

I caught Brian with the cabinet door open to our entertainment center-thing. He still isn't crawling, but he sure can move himself around the room! I didn't put him near the door. He got there and opened it by himself!

It's my turn...

2010-07-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

Last night I posted a blog of Kayleigh imitating Erik. This morning, we were trying to get all of our stuff in from Walmart, and while my hands were full, my cell phone started to ring. I knew it was Valerie calling me back, but I couldn't get to the phone in my purse. I dropped my phone on the ground and told Kayleigh to answer it for me. I had to make one more trip outside to get a sleeping Brian from his car seat and take him upstairs to finish the nap that he started on the way home. While walking upstairs, I heard Kayleigh telling Valerie what I said when the phone was ringing. Of course, this impression isn't as good as the earlier one, but I still thought I would post it. I think the hand motions make the video!

Kayleigh's impression of Erik

2010-07-06T16:07:00.001-07:00

This is how Kayleigh thinks Erik talks to her at the dinner table.

4th of July

2010-07-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy weekend for us! Erik had Friday off. I truly can't remember what we did that day, so I'll skip it. On Saturday, our friends called and asked if we wanted to swim in their pool. We ran errands in the morning, and then went to their house after lunch for some swimming. On Sunday, we went to church and afterward enjoyed a hot dog lunch outside. We went to Jenna's parents' house for dinner and lots of play time. Jack and Kate have 2 year old cousins who are triplets. The kids were herded outside where they ran around for a couple of hours before dinner. Then, we decided to meet up with a group from church to watch the fireworks. The only reason I liked the idea was because I thought they started at 9:15. Nope. The fireworks didn't start until 9:45!!! (There were some illegal ones set off near us, but it wasn't the real show.) BOTH kids stayed awake the whole time, and Kayleigh didn't go to sleep until we got home a little before 11! Kayleigh and Brian both enjoyed the fireworks. They were also ready to get home and into bed. I was very surprised when Brian woke up at 6:00, ate, and then wanted to stay awake! Kayleigh woke up at 8:00. Sheesh! Why don't my kids sleep in???

Things that make you go hmmm...

2010-07-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Did you ever misplace something and wonder where in the world you put it?? Then you search the entired house for it, only to find it in the most random place possible. Would you have ever looked here??

9 months old

2010-06-30T05:55:00.000-07:00

Wow! Brian is 9 months old today, and I've already taken his picture with Geoffery the Giraffe. I'm pretty good! A few things Brian has done this month are:
--Babbling. Brian is starting to do a lot of it this month. Of course, when he's happy he makes "da da" sounds. When he's upset he says, "ma ma".
--He will sometimes give a high five or try to wave. He doesn't have either one down to perfection.
--He can play peek-a-boo with you now, and will move the cover from in front of him.
--He has 6 teeth!
--I took him for a weight and length check at the doctor's office. (It's all the doctor wanted instead of a well check up.) Brian is 29 inches long and 23 pounds, which is actually a pound less than he weighed at 7 months. The nurse said it's okay since he is moving around more and still eating.
--He is still working on getting over his thighs to crawl, but he's working on it. We've made more of an effort lately to get him on the floor and put things out of reach so he has to grab for them. It's amazing how he can move around the room without crawling! If he falls over from a sitting position, he will roll to wherever he wants to go. I don't remember Kayleigh doing this as much. But, Brian will also scoot himself in a sitting position, too. I'm not sure how he does it, but he does! It's funny when he's sitting right next to me, and then all of a sudden he's 5 feet away.

Enjoy the pictures. I thought they were all pretty cute, so I had to put them all up for you.

Berry hunt

2010-06-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

We had plans to go blueberry picking with our friends, but Jenna got sick, so Kayleigh Brian and I went by ourselves. I didn't know what to expect when we got out there, but where we went was someone's house. They had a few rows of blueberry bushes, but we only made it down two. It was HOT, and Kayleigh and I were both ready to be done. Brian may have been ready, too, but he doesn't voice his opinion very loudly. We only picked about a half pound of blueberries. I was a little afraid to pick too many because I didn't want to waste them. After picking blueberries, the couple who owned the farm had samples of blueberry lemonade/tea. It was delicious, and very refreshing!
When we left, I decided to take the kids to Chick-fil-A for lunch and play time. Once lunch was over, Kayleigh wanted to go in the play area. She played for a long time before I decided we needed to go. Kayleigh heard some other parents talking to their kids about eating ice cream, and we agreed. So, before we were able to leave, we got a cup of ice cream with strawberries. YUM!
I was so happy to be home and get the kids in bed for nap time. We all had good afternoon naps. It was a fun, tiring day.

Beach

2010-06-16T00:31:00.000-07:00

I brought the kids over to Jacksonville for a couple of days to see Aunt Val and Tio Teo. Kayleigh has wanted to go to the beach, and I think it's because her friend Jack is on a beach vacation right now, too. We had a great time at the beach. It worked out because there was a HUGE tidal pool that Kayleigh could play in. She hasn't been fond of the waves, so that gave her a perfect opportunity to play in salt water without getting splashed in the face. I took Brian over to the water for him to splash and kick for a little bit. The poor boy had fun, but then really wanted a nap, so we sat on the blanket under our umbrella.
There were lots of little fish in there that would nibble at our legs, which freaked me out a little bit. Some of them really got rough! We tried to catch them, but they were too fast.
While I was with Brian, Kayleigh and Valerie continued to play in the tidal pool. They found shells, which Kayleigh called "sheets". She said "shells" was hard to say. I finally had to convince Valerie to hold Brian for awhile so I could go have some fun with Kayleigh! We went down to the shore, just to where the last of the waves could come over our legs. I wanted to look for coquinas (is that spelled right?), but I didn't find any. I forgot how pretty their shells are! We did find some kind of snail and watched him bury himself in the sand.
When I thought Brian couldn't take being at the beach any longer, I told Kayleigh it was time to go. When we got in the car and looked at the time, we had been there for 3 hours! Whew! Needless to say, the kids conked out and Valerie and I didn't even stay up as long as usual. I'm up because I had to feed Brian a little while ago and should probably go back to sleep. It's hard to get computer time with Valerie and Kayleigh to share with!
We are going to Valerie's friend's community pool this morning, and then hang out before heading home on Thursday. Sorry I don't have any pictures to show you of the beach. We both forgot our cameras. Here is one of the kids wrapped up in their towels after their bath. I was trying to just get Brian because he looked so cute when I set him down, but Kayleigh can't resist the camera and wanted in too. Who was I to say no???

Kayleigh ballerina

2010-06-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

You might be tired of looking at pictures of Kayleigh in her dance outfit, but I couldn't resist one more picture of her all decked out!

Playing

2010-06-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

Erik and Kayleigh went to the store this afternoon, leaving Brian and me home alone to think of things to do to amuse ourselves. I gave him some Lego's to play with, but that didn't seem to do the trick for long. I started to build a tower, and he thought it was funny to take my pieces away from me. He got such a kick out of it that I had to do it more, and then I decided I had to get a video of it. This is the shortest video. I'm sorry that it's a little bumpy, but I had to move the camera around to see the pieces to put them back together. Hopefully you will get a good taste of the fun we both had.

Okay, change of plans. I couldn't decide which video I liked better, so here is the other one. You can watch it if you want to.

Here it is

2010-06-11T05:58:00.000-07:00

Have you wondered about Brian's furniture? We really did get it those months ago, and yesterday I finally remembered to take the camera upstairs for a picture.

The Eikelands

Pancakes for dinner

S'mores

Pajama Day

Fun with Mama Shirley and Daddy Jim

Christmas in St Pete

Christmas happenings

Hanging of the Green

Playing catch up

Pumpkin Patch 2011

Catching Up

Brian's birthday party

Praying mantis

All by himself

Go Gators!

Sew...

Grape festival

Kayleigh's first day of VPK!

St Pete!

Videos

Miniature horses and donkeys

Pantene Beautiful Lengths

So sweet!

Jacksonville visit

Nature as a teacher

OUCH!

Pictures

Updates

Panama City Beach

Kayleigh's birthday

Kayleigh's recital

Orlando trip

Friday morning

Tails and Trails 2011

Bubbles

Visit with Nick's family

Busy day today

Brian's 18 month check up

Some pics

Our new (to us) van!

"The Golden Hour"

Home made pizza outside

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Gate River Run

Something new

North Carolina

Sleepy fellow

The many faces of Kayleigh

Play day

Saturday morning

Tracy and Kayleigh

The Noise

What we're up to...

Christmas morning

Catching up with pictures

Gingerbread Man House

Christmas party and lights

Breakfast in Bethlehem

Meeting Caroline

Caught on camera!

Outside playtime

Brian walking!

Play time last night

Play date

Fun times

Jacksonville visit

Kayleigh's first race

Fire station

The Pumpkin Patch

12 month check up

Brian's birthday pics

Atlanta

Brian's birthday party

One year old!

More

Brian's first hair cut

Peek-a-boo

Kayleigh's swimming lesson

Almost one!

What we've been up to...