New Pics- Update coming soon

Bonding

Bonding with books and bath......

Kai is happy to show Addie his favorite books. He ususally talks her through them...... "Addie, look a tractor!" "Addie, a cow says moo!" She is intriqued by most anything Kai has and grabs for everything!

This is their 1st bath together. Addie is not quite strong enough for our little bathchair yet, but I found this little mesh recliner for the short-term that keeps her head and ears just above the water. I have to really watch this girl though, she rolls to the sides for every toy floating by and has nearly rolled right off the chair!

Nuggets

We were blessed to be able to go to Family Night at the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. We are big fans! We had never taken the kids, but it ended up being pretty entertaining having them there! It was nice to have MooMoo and Mimi (Grandma and Aunt Emily) there with us to adjust seating in a very cramped space (amongst 5 meals, diaper bag, and kids on laps).

Eating helped entertain Kai. Toward the end we had to break out some toys but otherwise he spectated well.

This was him by the last few minutes of the game......tired but hangin' in there! It didn't help to have him up extra late on top of the time change the night before! What a trooper!

Cute of of Daddy and Addie. She was an excellent little fan! Now she just needs a Nuggets jersey to match the rest of us!

Halloween 2009

Our little Dragon and Pumpkin!

I got these costumes at the Thrift store ....super bargin! I'm all about the easy pull over costumes at this age! Kai's was just a hoodie and Addie's tied in the back with her hat of course!

We trick or treated around camp and then headed to a church Harvest Party! Kai was really starting to grasp the concept of knocking on doors for a treat.

At the Harvest Party there was little stations of games to play for candy prizes! Kai enjoyed getting this spider facepainted on his cheek.

We saw of couple of Kai's playmates at the Party. I thought it was so cute they all held hands for a picture! (Above is Zane the elephant and Below is Emily the pumpkin).

Addie Endeavors

Addie's taken up reading. She even likes books propped up while she's on her back.

We've finally started cereal. I honestly was not too anxious this time... yet another step to feedings! She's not super interested, but Kai never liked cereal either....so we may be on to more exciting things in the coming days!

She likes to sit by the play kitchen when Kai plays because it sings and plays music!

She likes to join us at the table in her highchair....especially because of the easy access to her feet!

Snowed In

You gotta love snow days in Colorado!

This our pre-storm. It was a cool combo of sun and fog. Here's Kai trying to burn some energy during Addie's nap. Didn't last long.......haven't gotten new sizes of snowpants/boots/gloves in October!!! Wet. Burrrr! Later the same week was the BIG storm. We got 2+ft. of snow and were confined to the indoors except when Daddy passed by in the plow truck. Thank goodness for outings to the dining hall. We didn't leave camp from Wed. to Sat. Let's just say, minivans are good for a lot of things....snow is not one of them! One morning we all played in a blanket fort!

Funny look Adster! She enjoyed her brother's enthusiasm for the fort!

Kai insisted on bringing ALL his toys into the fort. But hey, it took time to gather all of them and fit them in. As you can see, he's not much for organization!

This was the snow accumulation on Thurs. morning. It was hard to tell how much was really out there because of the drifts. But notice the rail is hardly anything and the chair is completely covered! To entertain myself during our week at home, I dove into "craft mode." I have been self-teaching on the sewing machine during naptime the last couple weeks so I could attempt some small projects, like these pacifier straps. It was fun to pick out the fabric and play around with making these straps work!

Reunion

A couple intern friends from the University of Virginia were recently in Denver for a nutrition conference. We got to have dinner together and reminisce! It was the 1st time I'd seen them since Derrick and I moved back from VA in 2006 and the 1st time I'd been downtown in FOREVER! An all-around good time (as you can see).

Add-ster

Addalyn is 5 months now.

Her screaming continues. She screams for FUN and when she's MAD.....but no doubt we hear it! She's starting to get long wispy hairs on top of her head (you can see in the pic below). So cute. I'm excited to do the Pebbles hairstyle from the Flinstones with cutsy barretts.

Thought this pic captured it all. Kai is stealing Addie's toys and she is screaming......and so it begins.

She's really starting to enjoy the Johnny Jump-up seat now that she figured out how to keep her feet on the ground for leverage. She doesn't jump yet, but she'll extend her legs and then let them go to fall to the side or spin.

Addie's the perfect age for our backpack now. She loves to be up higher than the stroller and able to look around. We took a family hike on the mountain last Sunday afternoon....she sang on the way up and slept on the way down!

Kai-man

"Kai-man" is used frequently by Derrick and I in reference to Kai....... and now he's started to call himself that too! It comes out sounding more like "Kai-men."

Kai has always played independently very well. However, now he's starting to ask for me or daddy or Addie or Scout (the dog) to play with him. "Play trains mama" or "let's build a tower Scout." But the funniest thing is his newest suggestive phrase "should we........." Here's some common suggestive phrases we hear daily: "Should we watch the news" "Should we play trains" "Should we color a picture" "Should we read a book" "Should we have a snack" "Should we play outside" He's also directing the phrase toward someone: "Should we watch the news mama" or "should we read a book Addie." It's pretty stinkin' cute.

This pic is one of the times Kai was playing trains with Scout on the carpet. Scout is obviously a good sport about it!

Derrick cleaned up this old school desk we found around camp for Kai. He routered his name and a pencil tray on the top. Kai thinks it's pretty cool. The other day I was telling Kai we need to call Grandma because she's sick (H1N1 we think) and she wasn't feeling good. Immediately Kai ran to get his colorbook and crayons and said "Kai draw Grandma picture." He knew this would make her feel better. I walked to the back of the house to grab my phone and I could hear him yelling "Grandma get better. I draw you a picture." Kai loves his Grandma. Now we just need to get those pictures in the mail.........

Keeping Warm

Out comes the snowsuit for Addie, hat and mittens for Kai, and our winter coats. Scout is practically hairless and inside. It is ridiculously cold in Colorado. Frost and ice cover EVERYTHING. It's alot of work to get everyone bundled up to go out.......but kinda fun at the same time!

Today we're sipping hot cider, having soup for lunch, and staying cozy at home in our pj's (until 5pm yesterday). But how long will it stay fun?........honestly we hope winter is only a few weeks.

We have to entertain more indoors. It's fun only in small doses...we all tend to get a little stir-crazy! Kai and Addie are cozied up watching a movie. Obviously they're into it.

Addie has been her own entertainment lately on the floor. The video clip is some of her best vocals! She mainly likes to sing alone, but she gave me a little show this day.

She'll be 5 months next week and is getting to be quite the pudge-ball. She's solely taking formula these days and seems to love whatever kind I surprise her with! Good baby. She can roll but rarely does. She's just content to lay on her back and roll to her sides to grab cups, rattles, or whatever. She is starting to want to sit supported and always prefers to stand while you are holding her.

Kai is 2 and acting like it. He's so adorable you want to kiss him or so naughty you want to smack him! We are knee deep in lessons on unconditional love. It's a learning curve for us and with the Lord's help, "this too shall pass." He still loves trains. He is either asking to watch them on TV or demanding on bringing one with us wherever we go. He has an awesome new selection of books from his birthday and has been wanting to read more often (like while we think he's napping in his room with the door shut)! He also is starting to voice his preferences.....mainly with food or activities. Goodbye to the days of eat anything and play with whatever is available.

Others....from the birthday weekend

Too cute to not inlcude. Addie and Grandpa. Wear those pretty sundresses when we can from now on!

Grandpa brought Kai some apples from his tree at home. These are the same SUPER sour apples Kai ate this summer when they WEREN'T ripe. Much better now.

Enjoying their apples together on the picnic table.

Here's Kai munching the SOUR apple this summer with Henry and Julia! Funny....never seems to like apples that much other than right off the tree.Grandma and Kai sporting their pj's and reading some new books! (Sorry mom)

Grandpa and Papa posing with Kai at his 2nd birthday party. He was taking a watermelon break on his picnic table.....alone. I guess when you are hungry, you're hungry!

My Baby is TWO

Last weekend we celebrated Kai's 2nd Birthday with a bunch of his little playmates and their families.

It was of course a Thomas the Train theme. We had Thomas the Train ring toppers on the cupcakes and a cake (which was not my best work) that had tracks all around it and a plastic train placed on top. But if there was frosting, heck they didn't care! You should have seen these 2 yr. olds scarf-down these cupcakes and sneak another without their parents knowing! So funny! I have video proof!

The main attraction was Ponderosa's enormous inflatible SLIDE. I think some of the parents had just as much fun as the kids!

The birthday boy finishing up his cupcake at the picnic table.

Here's a few shots of Kai checkin' out the slide with mom and dad. Because Derrick helped move the slide inside and get it cleaned up after the summer camp season, Kai was introduced to it several days before his party! He loved it and seemed fearless, but he got hurt the day before his party and acted pretty hesitant the whole 1st half of the party. He wasn't willing to slide alone.

Here's a cute little video of Derrick, Kai and his buddy, Zane. Zane seemed to be having a killer time (check out his dance moves). At this point we were trying to warm Kai up to the slide again so he'd go down with Daddy.

Altogether a fun party! We're so blessed to utilize the camp resources here at Ponderosa (hence the slide). Thanks Ponderosa!

Still hard to believe our baby is TWO already. Seems like only a few months ago we were commuting to the hospital to make his morning feedings in the NICU. Birthdays really make me reflect on that time in our lives. So thankful for a healthy toddler! We'll see if this next year can really be labeled "the terrible two's"..........

Last day of summer

Oh, how I love Colorado! Summer to winter in matter of hours!