Monday 4/9/12 - Sorry Peeps!

Sorry about being M.I.A. for so long.  It's been crazy here, to say the least.  I can't keep my head on straight, let alone remember what day it is.  I'm lucky, if on any given day, I get a shower & get to brush my teeth!  Clean clothes are optional!  :D  Every day is like being in a whirl wind!  One day, some one asked me how I was doing, raising 3 kids?  I told them, "Well, I've learned to fly by the seat of my pants on most days.  I'm tellin' ya, it's like a 3 ring circus at our house & I'm the ring master!"  Their comment to me was, "Well, atleast YOU'RE the ring master."  I can't say I am in control every day, but I sure try like the dickens to be!  I thought I would bring you up to speed and let you know what's been going on over here in the past several months.  This will most likely turn into a long post so I hope you're prepared!  As I go back and look at these picture, I can't get over how much Kyndall has changed.  She will be 8 months old in 4 days (4/13)!  I can't believe it!   Well, if you're ready...HERE WE GO!!!


Kyndall is 12 weeks 1 day old here. I forgot just how much of her hair fell out.  Now she has a full head of it!

These two like to play dress up.  Brianna usually gets her little brother to join in.  He kinda looks like a willing participant, doesn't he?!?! 

We went to the dentist for our 1st check up!  Actually, Brianna went last year, but she cried when she got her teeth counted.  This year, she did much better!  I let her go with me a few weeks ago, when I got my cleaning.  She got to see that it wasn't painful and she got a new tooth brush and a toy after she was done!  Our dentist reassured me that I was doing a good thing by not letting either of my kids have very much candy/juice/gum/sweets/soda.  I get a lot of flack from a lot of people for not allowing my kids to have any of these.  I've been told that I'm a terrible parent, all kids NEED to have candy & gum, "your POOR kids!"  If ONE person can prove to me that it's a horrible thing to NOT allow my kids have candy, but on only very special occassions, I'll change my actions.  Until then, I refuse.  Guess who's gonna have to go with them when they get their 1st cavity filled?  Yep, you guessed it...ME.  I want to spare them this trama as long as I can.  Yes, my kids brush their teeth twice a day too, in case you're wondering. 

I forgot to get a picture of Brianna, but I got one of this lil guy.  He was a champ!  They were gonna just count his teeth, but he was sitting so still, they decided to clean his teeth too!  He was very brave for his 1st check up!

Kyndall at 13 weeks old.  We've had to take this down now because she's out grown it!  She got too heavy for it and it had to work REALLY hard to stay swinging...lol.  It looks strange to me how little bit of hair she had.  She looks bald in this picture compared to what she looks like now! 

We painted

They both like to paint!

ANOTHER piggy bank was broken...AGAIN.

We read stories...

Went to birthday parties...

Brianna with her friend, Maris (the birthday girl)

Some of us took ALOT of naps!

We got to visit with Mrs. Claus

And Santa Claus!

We colored Santa claus pretty pictures and wrote a list of things that we wanted for Christmas

We got new ornaments for our Christmas Tree.  I'm trying to carry on a tradition that my mother in law did for her kids.  Each year she gave her kids a new ornament.  She would write their names & the year on the back of them.  When they got married & moved out, she gave them to each of the kids for them to decorate their own tree.  I thought this was a neat idea so I'm doing this for each of my kids.  Since this was Kyndall's 1st Christmas, I had to get her one.  Their very 1st ones all have their DOB stats on them.  (Yes, Aunt Sandy, I actually put up a tree.  It's a small one, but none the less, it's a tree).

We even decorated our house for the holidays!  Yes, Aunt Sandy...I DO decorate a little bit.  I'm not a TOTAL scrooge!  :) 

Looks like I will have to finish this another time...all hell is breaking loose over here...AGAIN!  Sorry!!

Saturday 11/5/11 - My 1st sleep over!

Today, Brianna is going to spend the night with a friend for the very 1st time.  She was a little nervous about it.  I told her if she changed her mind, all she had to do was call me & I'd come pick her up.  I told her that sometimes it could be a little scary sleeping at a different place that you're not used to.  Over all she did fine.  I took her picture to document her 1st experience!



I packed her stuff, got her sleeping bag & let her pick a sleeping buddy.  She said she had a fun time!

Monday 10/31/11 - Trick or Treat!

This evening, we went trick or treating with my brother & his kids, Lily & Adan.  We had a fun time walking around town watching the kids see who could get the most candy.  I don't get to see my brother very much so it was nice to visit for just a little bit.  Our kids are so close in age & get a long wonderfully!  Since it was pretty chilly outside tonight, Grandma Parker insisted that she watch Kyndall so we didn't have to take her out.  I bought her a costume to wear, but since she didn't go out, she didn't wear it.  I was a little relieved that we didn't have to take her.  She's not a fan of being in her carseat for any length of time & is not afraid to let you know.  Either Jack or I would've had to have carried her.  After holding her for a few minutes, she starts to get a little heavy.  :)


Jacob mostly walked with Jack...

He was always lagging behind...

Brianna was Super Girl

Poor Jacob was always last.  Adan & Brianna were always racing to get to the next house so they could get as much candy as they could. They didn't wait for anyone.

Adan & Brianna comparing their candy.  I think they even traded a few times...lol. 

Jacob had fun even though he was last.  He wasn't in any hurry.

Brianna & Adan leaving this house to hurry up to get to the next one.

Comparing candy again...

My niece, Lily, was checking out her loot too.  She's the pink, white & brown ice cream cone.

Jacob seemed to be more interested in his Tigger tail more than Trick or Treating.  I didn't understand this considering this boy has a SERIOUS sweet tooth. 

Lily as an ice cream cone

Brianna got vampire teeth from one house.  She wore them the rest of the time. 

Adan was a Transformer Bee

Brianna as Super Girl (Thanks Sarah for letting her borrow it)

Lily the ice cream cone

Jacob as Tigger.  He was showing his dad what candy he got!  I've never seen anyone so excited about candy as this little guy! 

I know this picture is dark, but my camera is old and doesn't take pictures very well at night.  The school parking lot, where we parked our vehicles, wasn't lit very well.  This was the best picture I could get of all 4 kids.  We were all cold, it was getting late & needed to get home.  Today was my last day on maternity leave.  I have to go back to work tomorrow.  Boo hoo! 

We had a blast Trick or Treating!  We hope you had fun tonight, no matter what you did!  Happy Halloween to you! 

Monday 10/31/11 - Recharging our batteries

It was such a pleasant surprise that BOTH kiddos napped at the same time!  This NEVER happens...NEVER.  I was shocked, but felt blessed that I could actually rest for once too.  We all needed to recharge our batteries after a busy morning.


I could watch her sleep for hours.  She's so peaceful looking!  Of course, I don't let her sleep all day though.  Otherwise, she wouldn't sleep for me at night.  Did you know that "they" say that when a baby sleeps for 5-6 hours at a time, that's considered sleeping "all night"?  I don't know who "THEY" are, but in MY book, I consider sleeping all night to be more like 8-10 hours!  :D

He went and got his pillow & covers off of his bed.  He made a little bed to lay in the family room to watch his Bob the Builder tapes.  He got quiet...which is NEVER good.  In my experience, he's either sleeping or into something.  Lucky for me, this time he was asleep!  He was asleep by noon today.  Poor little guy was up at 5:30 a.m. this morning.  He said his tummy hurt.  Come to find out, he was just hungry.  I'm glad that's all it was. 

We're always so pleasant & bright eyed & bushy tailed after a good nap! 

What a happy face she has!  I get to see this face just about each time she wakes up from her nap!  She's really starting to smile a lot! 

We had to recharge our batteries for tonight!  We're going Trick or Treating around town!  Since we live in the country, we have to go into town to get our candy fix!  Hee hee.

Sunday 10/31/11 - Red's Final Outcome

This is how big "Red" got during our little experiment over the past few days...


He got pretty big, I think...

                                                           
 I knew it wouldn't get 600 times his beginning size, but he did get pretty big, considering...
                                                         

Regardless of how big he "grew", the kids had fun watching him grow!

Sunday 10/30/11 - Self Portrait

Brianna called me into their playroom to show me this...



Jacob's self portrait that Brianna made out of his Thomas the Train, train tracks!  Before she told me what this was, I said, "Oh, who is this supposed to be?"  She said, "This is Jacob's self portrait, can't you tell?"  I told her, "Umm, yeah, it looks just like him."  Lol.

Saturday 10/29/11 - 11 weeks old!

11 weeks ago today, we were blessed to have this little lady join our family!  It's been a wild ride, to say the least, but we are very lucky to have her!  She is such a sweet little baby & we all love her very much!  We've all grown quite attached to her & love her like she's always been here.  We don't remember what it was like before her!


Babies look so angelic when they're asleep, don't they?  This includes this one!

**Today I am doubly blessed.  Today, 17 years ago, I was also blessed to have met Jack.  He is a great husband, father, best friend & helper!  I don't know what I would ever do without him!  I feel very lucky to have him in my life!  I love you Jack!  Thank you for everything you do for our family! 

Saturday 10/29/11 - "Red's" progress

Here is "Red" at 11:05 a.m.

Here he is at 3:00 pm

He's getting bigger!  Whether he grows 600 times his original size remains to be seen.

Friday 10/28/11 - Halloween Jammies

Yes, Kyndall has Halloween jammies!  Next to 4th of July, Halloween is my favorite holiday!  Is Halloween even considered a holiday?  People put up decorations, lights, go to parties & dress up...just like Christmas.  I think it should be one anyway, but who am I?   These jammies were Jacob's when he was little.  I thought Kyndall looked so cute in them!  So of course, I had to take her picture!   I swear, she's getting cuter by the day!  :)


One of the few times she would take a pacifier.  She was really content after eating!

Chubby babies are so cute! 

Friday 10/28/11 - Trunk or Treat

This evening, Brianna's school had a Trunk or Treat event for the kids & community we live in.  I had never heard of Trunk or Treating or even remotely had a clue of what it was.   I learned that people could register their vehicles with the school, decorate them and hand candy & other goodies out of their trunks.  The school tries to create a safe place for kids in the community to come to "trick or treat".  They closed off the school parking lot at 6 pm for kids to walk around to get their sugar fix.  :)   If that weren't enough, there were also games to play, in the gymnasium, face painting, food to eat, etc.  It was a pretty fun evening for the kids!  I took Brianna and Jacob, but G'ma Parker watched Kyndall for me.  It made it easier to maneuver around.  We were only gone for about 1 1/2 hours so it wasn't too bad. 


Brianna went as Super Girl & Jacob went as Tigger

He said his "hat" kept getting into his eyes & he couldn't see where he was going.

I took pictures of some of the vehicles that were in the parking lot.  A lot of them were decorated very creatively!  These people own a grooming & boarding business on the outskirts of town.  They brought a few of their dogs for the kids to pet.  It was only 6:30pm & they had already run out of candy.  REALLY??  In my opinion, that's poor planning on their part.  Come on, people!  Do you REALLY think kids are gonna want to just pet dogs?  Nope!  Well, not my kids anyway.  They're looking for candy!  We have a dog at home to pet...lol.  Needless to say, the kids moved along rather quickly when they found out there was no candy here!

Brianna met up with a friend that she went to Pre-K with.  I don't recall seeing this little girl before so I asked Brianna what her name was.  She said, "Mommy, this is Hannah."  This little girl is in 1st grade.  I'm tellin' ya, Brianna has friends coming out the woodwork!  She's a popular kinda gal!  It seemed like EVERYONE knew Brianna!  After all, she inherited the social butterfly gene from her mommy.  :)

This was a teacher at the school.  She was supposed to be a "mad scientist".  She had her laboratory out of the back of her pick up truck.  She was showing the kids how to make "smoke" with dry ice.

I had to really watch Jacob.  He tried to take everyone's candy.  I had to keep telling him that he only could have ONE piece of candy.  His response to that was, "You mean I only get ONE? "  He didn't get the concept that he had to "share" with others.  He's kinda stingy with his candy!

Some people were very simple with their decorations

While some were more elaborate!  I know this picture doesn't do a very good job, but you should've seen this vehicle!  Holy cow!  They had lights flashing & streamed all over, LOUD music blaring & the people were dressed up kinda weird.  It was like the 70's movie, "Saturday Night Fever" gone really, REALLY BAD.  :D

I know this picture is dark & kinda blurry, but this vehicle had a HUGE screened T.V. in the back!  It was so they didn't miss the World Series Game!  GO CARDS!!

This one had a T.V. too, but it wasn't near as big. 

Some displays were spookier than others

Even the town police got involved and handed out candy!  This is the trunk of their vehicle!

This is Maggie.  She's one of our town police women.  I had the kids get their picture taken with her.  She knows Jack very, VERY well from years ago.  That's all I'll say about that...lol.  ;)  She STILL remembers him!  Haha!

This was our Telephone Company's display.  If you look over to the far left corner of my picture, you'll see the owner, Richard Schmitt.  He's growing his beard so he can play Santa in a few months. 

This is another teacher at the school.  She was handing out GOOD candy!  She didn't hand out the "fun" size.  It was actually the BIG size!  My kids were sooo excited!  Jacob tried to take 4 different kinds.  I had to make him put back some.  :) 

Sitting on the bench outside of school, taking a break.

We only played one game and them quickly moved along to the face painting.  I have no clue what it is about it, but my kids go ga ga over getting their faces painted.  Actually Brianna does more so than Jacob.  The line was long & I wanted to move along, but the kids convinced me to stay.  I took pictures of them getting theirs.

The lady doing the face paintings did a fabulous job!  Thankfully, she painted fast AND good!

Can you guess what Brianna's getting painted on her face?

Can you tell now?

It's a BUTTERFLY!

Side view of her face

Now it's Jacob's turn.

Can ya guess what he's gonna be?

He looks real laid back here.  It was like it was putting him to sleep!

He's almost finished!

He's a SKELETON! 

Super Girl with a Butterfly

Aren't they cute?!

This cracked me up!  It's SCARY TIGGER! 

Sorry, I had to post this picture.  I thought Brianna looked really pretty here.

This is how we found Kyndall when we went to get her at Grandma Parker's house...

All 3 kiddos!

I love the look Kyndall is giving to Brianna.  She's looking at her like, "Oh my goodness!  What is THAT on your face?  That's weird!"

He really liked his scary face painting!

So much, that he threw a fit when told him he had to wash it off before he went to bed.  He threw another fit when he found out he couldn't eat anymore candy before he went to bed.  

To say the least, my kids had an awesome time!  Neither understood why they had to wash their face paintings off before bed.  I told them I didn't want them to get it all over their pillows/sheets.  Besides, it would be smeared all over when they woke up in the a.m.  Atleast they were a little better at understanding why we had to brush our teeth.  :)   Trunk or Treating is AWESOME!