A Post From Kinley

My mom has had a lot to blog about this week and honestly she gets a little behind on posts these days.   She's uh, busy.  Or at least that's what she says.  I don't know what she's talking about.   Anyway,  I thought I should update you on what we've been up to the past week and a half.   In case you haven't noticed last week was a little H.O.T.   But McKenna and Cooper were super lucky because they've been going to swimming lessons every day.  Yep, every morning for over a week we pack up around 9:30 and head to the pool.

 Mommy is excited because she doesn't have to get in the pool with Cooper any longer.  He's on his own for lessons but it looks like he's doing just fine.  Perhaps even enjoying himself.   He does a great job.  He's not afraid of the water at all.

 And this girl, well word around our house is that she used to hate the water.  I don't believe that for one second because she's a very good swimmer.   She's even doing the back stroke the whole way across the pool.    I hope I'm like her one day.

When I'm not paging through the latest Athleta catalog  this is where I usually hang out in my stroller, sweating my diaper off with my mom.   Wait, that didn't sound right.  She doesn't wear a diaper but she still says she's sweating her butt off.   I don't usually mind the heat or the 1/2 hour wait for lessons followed by the 15 minutes it takes the kids to change and get back to the car.    If I do start to cry I usually get a few goldfish crackers thrown my way so that makes up for it.

 Ha!  I just love this picture.  Look how crazy they are.  How can you not love them!

Until next time....Love, Kinley

Dear Cooper

June 25th.   It was never a date that I thought would mean so much to me.   July - the end of July.  Now that was supposed to mean something.  It was supposed to be when you would join our family.  But by now you know the story of how you blessed us and I mean really blessed us by arriving nearly a full month early.   We spent most of a day leading up to your birth worrying about you being small or even sick.  But you came into this world spunky and you have yet to let up.    You are for sure our joker, always looking to make people laugh.  And you often flash that sheepish smile and instantly win people over.   You're pretty easy to get along with though you can show your stubborn side, too.   I think that the biggest and best part of your personality is your softer side.  The side that shows when you hug your daycare friends before leaving school each day.  The side that is so evident when you ask to hug and kiss your baby sister while tucking a special doll under her arm.  
The past few months you have grown by leaps and bounds.    You are much more responsible these days, often getting up and dressed before I can even ask you to get ready.   You're a big helper to us and THE best shoe shelf organizer EVER!!!   You are like me (mommy) in that you like to have things neat and tidy.   That is pretty evident by the way you keep your room and the care you take when putting your clean laundry away.
You L.O.V.E all things video game related whether that be playing games on the ipad, the Wii or your new DSi.    And you're quite good at the games too.   Sometimes you get in a little bit of trouble for spending too much time with electronics but then again we all do!   You also love playing outside in the tree house and your new found love is Legos.  
Coop, I cannot really get it through my head that you are already 5 years old.   On one hand you still seem like a little boy to me and on the other hand you are becoming such a big kid.   I hope and pray that as you continue to grow you will continue to have such a kind heart.  I love the little person who you are and I can't wait to watch as you grow.    I love you to the moon and back!

Love, Mommy

Kinley, you're 10 months old!   That's 304 days that you've been here in our arms.  It's so hard to believe.

Entering into the summer months has really reminded me exactly what life was like this time last year.  We waited not so patiently at times.  I so vividly remember sitting up so many nights while you rolled around in my belly.   Let's just say some things never change because there are still many nights that you are rolling around when you should be sleeping.  We still struggle a lot of nights in that department but I guess over all your sleep habits are better than they were.  It still surprises me how little you can sleep and yet still be in such a great mood pretty much all the time.

Your personality has really taken off in the past month.  You are like Cooper and McKenna all rolled into one.  You are funny and easy going like Coop but you are very sensitive just like your big sister.  It will be interested to see how that all plays out as you grow.  You say a handful of words now including mama, dada, pap pap, dog and what we think is you trying to say "Tucker".  You look for him first thing in the morning no matter what else is going on.  He's become a pretty good buddy to you, often lying next to you when you're on the floor.   He can also be found under your chair at the counter waiting patiently for you to drop Cheerios or Goldfish crackers to him.

Speaking of growing, you were just over 18 pounds at your doctors appointment a week a.nd a half ago.  You are still wearing 6-12 month clothes though I'm crossing my fingers that they will last you until the end of the summer.   We are slowly leaving baby food behind and transitioning to all table foods.  So far your favorites seem to be cheese and yogurt followed closely by crackers and fruit.    You now have 6 teeth.  6!   And they are so stinking cute! 

You're not crawling yet and we just keep thinking that it will happen any day.   You are a pro at moving yourself backward and often end up under the couch or literally backed into a corner.   I have a feeling that life is going to get really interesting once you are on the move.

Our biggest obstacle of late is that you like to be held and/or entertained all the time.  And I can't leave your line of sight or you...freak out!   Some days you will surprise me and play on the floor by yourself or with McKenna or Cooper.  But it's very hard to get much done during the 1-2 short naps you sometimes take! 

 And so often you are right there with us in the thick of things and loving every minute.

You have started to enjoy the wagon instead of the stroller.   You look like such a big girl in there. 

We spend a lot of time outdoors watching the big kids of the neighborhood play.  It's hard to believe that soon you will be out there running with them.

But until then you will be hanging out with me and I just love that idea.   We are best buds, hanging out while McKenna and Cooper take a swimming lesson or play on the playground.
I think I probably say it every single month but you bring us so much joy.  Your shy smile melts my heart.   Now that your 10 months old it makes me painfully aware that soon you will be a year old.   I will forever wonder where this time has gone and how it has gone by so quickly.  So for now I'm going to continue to savor your "babyness" every second of every day.    Love you!   ~Mommy

Happy 5th Birthday, Cooper!

As this summer continues to fly by we find ourselves celebrating another year with our special little buddy.  Our Cooper.   Friday evening, we celebrated with a few of his close friends and his sisters his 5th birthday.   Cooper had asked for a Lego themed party and I did my best to accomodate that.

 Of course, he also asked for a pinata.  And when we couldn't find a Lego pinata we opted for the next best thing - Lightning McQueen.

 He was blessed to receive some wonderful gifts including a new video game,  a card game, a cool flashlight and some Lego Ninjago toys.  

 As you can see we were forced to move our party to the garage after a large storm blew through earlier in the day.  It dampened pretty much everything except for the enthusiasm of this bunch of kids.

 Luckily it dried out enough that the kids were not confined to the garage.

 I had so much fun making some of the favors and decorations for the party. 

 Who knew that Kinley could help us out by eating the babyfood out of those jars that we would later make into Lego heads!

 The cupcakes were a huge hit and it was difficult for the kids to decide which color they wanted.

Poor Kinley watched from the sidelines for a bit.  Honestly though she didn't seem to mind.   She figures before long it will be her big birthday.   But for now Mommy needs a little breather!

Father's Day Weekend 2012

I can't help but think of the laundry I should be folding at this very moment.  I think it's safe to say that all of our towels are currently heaped in a basket.  I guess that means I have until about 8pm tonight when McKenna and Cooper are crawling out of the tub until someone actually needs one of those towels.  Besides, filling you in on our weekend is much more interesting than sequestering myself in the laundry room.

We started our Father's Day celebrating a little bit early this year.  Because of church commitments and such we decided to treat the father's in our lives to breakfast Saturday morning.

 After filling our belly's at Country Cupboard we returned home to give Pappy Landis his new garden stone.  The kids made it last week.  I think it turned out pretty cool.  There was not much rest for the weary (read Me) before we were packing the car to head to Knoebel's with the Dugan's.

 This was Kinley's first trip to Knoebel's and our first in 2 years.   We never made it last summer as my pregnant body would not have ever made it in from the parking lot.

 A seasoned rider after her visit to Disney, Kinley enjoyed a ride with her siblings on the fire truck.

 While the big kids rode things like the Whip and the Bumper Cars.   Lauren and McKenna made more than a few passes on the little Whip and then ended their night on the big one.

 I love how Kinley is holding on.  So cute!

 This picture cracks me up.  Cooper could not wait to ride the Frog Hopper.  But take note that his face bears resemblance to the the pictures from last summer when he rode this at the beach.   He loves the ride but makes this face every.single.time.   Cooper wins the award for bravery after riding the kiddie roller coaster all by himself.   I was not so sure how it would go over but he was insistent that he could do it on his own.   And he did - and came off grinning ear to ear.  I think we have a dare devil on our hands.

 Sunday after a day of golf Daddy opened his cards and gifts from the kids.  I have no idea why I don't have a picture of Earl and Cooper.  I think he was mostly interested in getting a cool pop at this point and wouldn't sit for a picture. 

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!  Thanks for all you do for us! 

Sunday night after dinner we made a quick Target run and then stopped to see Pappy Richard.  It was such a beautiful night to sit out on the patio and chat.  

And so, that's the extent of our weekend.  Please note the sarcasm.  I am exhausted!   I'm not sure I can sustain this pace all summer!

More of the Same, I Guess

What have we been up to this week?  Hmmmm....Well more of the same I guess.  I say that with a smile.  

On Sunday the kids and I decided to try out Sunday School. We all loved it. I was worried that after spending 3 hours at church the kids would be not so fond of it. However, as we were pulling out of the parking lot McKenna said, "We're going back again next week, right." 

 After church we made our usual Subway stop before heading to Mimi and Pappy's for an afternoon of swimming.  Kinley has not quite worked her way up to cold cut hoagies so she settled for pureed sweet potatoes.   I'm happy (maybe not so much) to report that we are phasing out baby food and moving more and more toward real food for our big girl.

 Don't look now, but that's McKenna jumping off the diving board WITH NO FLOATIES ON!!!!!  It's still hard for me to believe how far she's recently come in the pool.   I'm so, so glad though that she has learned to swim.  She's like a fish now.

 And this boy is not far behind.  He's still sporting the swimmies in the deep end but give him a week or two and I have a sneaking suspicion that they will be history.

 We had a rainy Tuesday and so Daddy and Kinley decided that it called for a good old nap.  I have to admit to a little jealousy as I quickly snapped this picture before running out the door to take McKenna to Spanish.

After her nap she was ready to go....to the doctor that is.  After picking McKenna up at her lesson we loaded Kinley in the car and took her to her 9 month well baby check.   She's happy to let you know that she weighed in at just barely over 18 pounds and was 29 ( I think) inches long.    We were excited to dodge shots this time but consented to a little blood work to check her iron level.   We have stopped giving her iron fortified cereal because it gives her tummy troubles and 9 months is around the time that the iron stores a baby was born with begin to decline.   She seemed no worse for the wear after we left the doctors office, although her feelings might have been a little hurt.  Poor girl.

We didn't stop for long before heading to meet Daddy and Cooper at the movies.  We were all looking forward to seeing Madagascar 3.   It was a funny movie and Kinley and I managed to see all but the last literally 5  minutes.  Sigh.  But, hey, I can't complain when she sat through the first hour and a half.

So, there you have it.  We've been hanging around, enjoying the second official week of summer!  There has been a little less attitude this week, a little more cooperation and the usual dose of silliness mixed in.  And so, we've had a pretty great week.   We are gearing up for a busy weekend with a Father's Day breakfast, a trip to Knoebel's and birthday party preparations for Cooper.    I'm tired already!

This One's for You Mimi and Pappy

Last week McKenna and Cooper were invited to stay the night with Tighe at Mimi and Pappy's house. Shane and Jeri had lots of fun things planned to keep the kids occupied, including making tie dye shirts. The kids were all anxious to wear them the next day when I took them to the park.

I was excited to get a picture of all four  kids together.  It's almost impossible to get them to slow down enough to get them all in the same frame.   This was the first one I took.  And trust me when I say it just goes down hill from there.

 I wish I knew what Kinley was thinking.  You can fill in the caption for yourself.

 See, I told you it just goes down hill.  This one sums up the silly bunch!

And one last sweet picture of Kinley who loved, loved, loved the swing.

I Wouldn't Know Where to Start

I finally got one blog post up!!! School's out!!!  Stay tuned for more but for now please see the post below.


The past two weeks have been an absolute whirlwind around our house.  So much so that even though I have tons to blog about, I wouldn't even know where to start tonight.   I have probably close to 100 pictures to edit, documenting everything from Cooper's preschool class graduation, McKenna's class celebration, the last day of school for each of the kids, Kinley (just because she's cute!) and Kyle and Cady's rehearsal dinner.   Gasp!  Yes, that's right...My baby brother is getting married tomorrow.  I cannot believe it - not because he's not a great guy.  It's just hard to believe he's getting married when I can so vividly remember the day he was born!   I'm so excite for him and for Cady.  I pray that they have a wonderful life together.   And so, I am signing off for tonight so that I can get a good night sleep.   Please stay tuned over the next week for lots and lots of blog posts that are long over due.

School's Out For the Summer!

Whew!  Where has this past school year gone?  I do not recall any 9 months flying by so fast in all my life. 

Before we could officially call it quits for the summer we had a few special programs to attend.  First was Cooper's preschool "graduation".  Even though we have decided that Cooper will spend one more year at Crossroads we decided to have him participate in the end of the year program and celebrate moving from the Bumble Bee room to the Dragon Flies. 

We enjoyed a program full of praise songs,  skits and a few funny antics from the kids.  Thankfully none of those were from my kid!

 Cooper received his certificate from his wonderful teacher, Miss Hilary.  This was Hilary's first class and she did such a wonderful job.  

 I love the big smile on his face while he laughs with his friends. 

 Ms. Bev (otherwise known as Ms. Beb) is one of Cooper's favorite teachers.  She has such a sweet heart and is so good to our little guy even though he sometimes forgets to bring a hug for her.

Cooper and Ms. Hilary

If you page back many years to McKenna's preschool graduation you will find two vaguely similar looking children standing in the exact same spot.  My how fast all the years have gone.

A few days before school closed for the year I spent an afternoon in McKenna's classroom serving goodies.  And I do mean "goodies".  The kids in Ms. Madara's class had earned money for various things throughout the year.  As a reward they got to "spend" their money at the end of the year celebration.  There was a menu to order from which included ice cream sundaes or baked goods (or both if you had enough money!).  Or you could opt to spend your money on a small prize like a beach ball or bubbles.  The other nice touch was that kids who had earned over $2.00 were allowed to invite a guest from another class to share in the celebration.  It was such a great way to teach the kids money management and we all had a special afternoon.   McKenna is going to miss Ms. Madara's classroom.

And now for the moment we've all been waiting for (okay, maybe I speak for myself but I love to compare the pictures from the beginning to end of the year.

 Cooper's first day of preschool August 25th, 2011

And the last day....May 31, 2012

 McKenna's first day of second grade.

 And the last day of second grade - June 1, 2012.  Please Lord tell me that she is not going to mature this much every single year!

I can't decide if this is the same kid!

And just in case you forgot...Kinley now....

And Kinley sleeping through the first day of school having been born just over 24 hours before hand.
It has certainly been a growing year for our family in many, many ways.  It was my first school year at home and our first year as a family of 5.  We have enjoyed so many special memories and the kids have all grown and matured beyond words.    We have been blessed but as I've said time and time again - if we could just slow this train down a bit!