I almost forgot to tell all of you…Kelvin took his first step recently!! There’s nothing like that moment…it’s way better than any holiday gifts! It was even more special because he took it while my family was here for that one afternoon.

Since then, he’s taken two different sets of four steps each. I know he’s capable of doing more than that, but he hasn’t worked up the courage yet. Pretty soon, though!!

My little man is growing up so fast!! *sob*

Posted: October 29th, 2009 under Random Thoughts.
Comments: 2

Tonight Chad and I had a chance to do something we very rarely get to do…we actually got to go out on a date!

We’re going to start swapping baby-sitting with our neighbors who have three kids, and tonight was our turn to go out. We didn’t want to be gone too long since it was the first time, so we just went for a quick dinner. We didn’t know how Kelvin would react to being without Mama and Daddy, but we knew Ava would be fine because she’s played with their kids before and seemed completely comfortable. It turned out Kelvin was pretty fussy, but he’s typically that way when he’s around a lot of people and it was just made worse by the fact that Mama wasn’t there. Before we go out again, we decided that I should go over there and spend some time there with him to help him feel a little bit more comfortable.

Hopefully this will work out well, because it’s definitely nice to be able to talk without getting interrupted every 2 seconds or losing our train of thought…hey, maybe we’ll actually be able to talk about free insurance quotes now! Seriously, though, it’s very appreciated to be able to have a break once in awhile….but I’m always anxious to get back to my babies when it’s over!

Posted: October 29th, 2009 under Random Thoughts.
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We’ve been having so much fun having lots of company lately!!

About a week and a half ago, my parents and almost all of my brothers and sisters visited us for an afternoon on their way home from the Feast. Kelvin was a bit overwhelmed by having so many people in his house, but Ava was in her element. She loves being the center of attention and when she’s around my family, she has at least five people focusing on her at any given moment. LOL She was very disappointed when they left that evening without bringing her with them.

Then last Saturday, my grandparents drove down for a visit. Usually when they’re here, Chad and my grandpa work on some sort of home improvement project, but this time we did a “tour of Topeka” instead. We went to visit the capital, the library (which the kids and I visit regularly, but my grandpa had never seen it), and the Great Overland Museum. We also went to the Rees Fruit Farm, took a hayride and picked a “Mama Pumpkin” from the pumpkin patch (Ava named it the Mama Pumpkin because we also got three tiny pumpkins, which are the Baby Pumpkins LOL). The farm was a lot of fun, but we all agreed it would have been even better if they’d had animals for the kids to pet, too (but maybe they didn’t want to buy horse supplies or something).

My grandparents left to go home yesterday afternoon and we were all a little bummed, as usual. On the bright side…Our busy few weeks of having lots of company might be over, but it’s only FOUR weeks until Thanksgiving!! We’re counting down the days!

PS You can see all the pictures from our visits here.

Posted: October 29th, 2009 under Random Thoughts.
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I got Kelvin’s one-year pictures done on Wednesday and I think they turned out really good!

Usually, even if Ava doesn’t need hers done, I ask them to get a few of the two kids together and she usually pitches a fit and refuses to cooperate. So this time, I decided to not even bother and I didn’t dress her up at all and what do you know…she was more than willing to pose! Argh. So there are a few of her, too…LOL

Oh yes, and I realized that I started a new photobucket (the old one was full) and didn’t post it here. To see it, click here. There are pictures from September and October (including the Feast and Kelvin’s birthday). Enjoy!

Posted: October 18th, 2009 under Random Thoughts.
Comments: 2

So…

Did you miss me at all? Wonder where I was? Yeah, me too.

We got home safely from Colorado, but I’m having the hardest time getting my groove back. I’m not back in my normal routines, I’m not doing my normal activities, and I hate it! I’m not even working out, prompting me to think that maybe a weight loss diet pill isn’t such a bad idea after all…it would certainly take less time! Just kidding. Maybe. I think I left the normal “me” back in Colorado, and I’m left with a weird, disorganized, confused version of me.

We got back nearly a week ago and I still have not finished unpacking. In my own defense (I don’t know why I’m defending myself since I voluntarily admitted that), I only have Ava’s clothes left to put away and it’s taken me so long because I had to pack away everyone’s summer clothes so I could put their winter clothes from the suitcases into their drawers. Which takes a lot of time when I have little helpers undoing everything just as fast as I can do it.

As long as I’m making excuses, I should also tell you about the weather. It stinks. We’ve had clouds and rain every single day since we got home. I don’t mind a rainy day here and there. In fact, I like them. But a week of rain? Come on! It’s really starting to get me down.

I guess I can also blame Ava’s potty-training for my lack of routine, but I’m not complaining. I started getting serious about potty-training her a few days ago and she’s doing awesome!! She has 2-3 accidents a day, but it’s usually when she’s tired. And she has 12 pairs of underwear, which she takes full advantage of. She changes her panties at least every 5 minutes whether they need to be changed or not. At least she’s getting lots of practice at putting them on by herself!

And then there’s the teething. Always the teething. Here I thought Kelvin was just getting two teeth on the bottom, but when I took him for his 1-year checkup, his doctor noticed that he’s also getting two molars on the top and they’re almost through! If they come through before the bottom teeth, he will have 6 teeth on top and only 2 on the bottom!

But guess what!! The sun just poked its head through the clouds! It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do to brighten your mood, isn’t it? I guess it’s time to go get started on the laundry.

Posted: October 16th, 2009 under Ava's Potty-Training Journey.
Comments: 2

Today has been kind of a rough day so far. Kelvin is not adjusting well to the elevation and is seriously teething on top of it. He got up at 5:30 am, cried all morning (both before and during church) and then finally fell asleep on our way home and is still sleeping now. Chad says he can see the teeth and they’re almost ready to pop through, so hopefully the end is in sight! His teething is always horrible and drawn-out so I really hope this is the real thing this time. Sometimes the teeth get super-close to popping through and then they go back down, which is why it takes so long for his teeth to come through. It’s frustrating and seems like such a waste of his pain, know what I mean?

Chad is going ATV-ing with the guys today. He didn’t want to leave the kids and me for an entire afternoon, but I convinced him to go because I know he was really looking forward to it (last time we were here, I couldn’t go because I was pregnant with Ava so he didn’t go either). I don’t think I would have enjoyed it that much anyway even if I could go…it seems like a guy kind of thing (kind of like looking at car grilles LOL).

I think after the kiddo’s wake up, we’re going to go shopping. There’s no way they’ll stay in the room all afternoon without driving me crazy so we definitely have to go out and do something! As long as Kelvin is in a better mood, the afternoon should go pretty quickly.

Posted: October 7th, 2009 under Random Thoughts.
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Hi to everyone from Steamboat Springs, Colorado!!

We made it here safely on Friday around 5 pm. We left about 12 hours earlier, so it was a very full day of traveling! It was nice to not be in a rush, though…we stopped to eat twice and let the kids run around and we also stopped at an Old Navy outlet and did some shopping. Usually when we go up to WI, we’re just trying to get there as quickly as we can, so this trip was a lot less stressful.

So far, we haven’t done a whole lot. We’ve been going to church every day, of course, and we went shopping one day and celebrated Kelvin’s birthday yesterday. We plan to be busier during the rest of our trip, but it’s been really nice to slow down a little for the last few days. Especially since I haven’t been feeling well because of the elevation. It isn’t even that high (about 6000 feet, I think), but I’ve had headaches every day and I’ve been really tired and just not feeling well overall.

We’ve had pretty nice weather since we’ve been here. It wasn’t too cold the first few days, but it snowed yesterday and last night (which the kids were thrilled about!). It didn’t snow a whole lot…just enough to dust the ground. I can’t wait to share pictures when we get home. It’s absolutely gorgeous up here in the mountains. Really makes you think about things like Green Study and other programs that help keep places like this so beautiful.

I’ll share more updates as I have time!

Posted: October 6th, 2009 under Random Thoughts.
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