Thursday, May 27, 2010

My Reading Babes

On several occasions in the last few weeks I've been doing something in another area of the house (usually the kitchen), and noticed that the kids were being unusually quiet.  Normally this would mean that they were getting into something they weren't supposed to.  But, to my joy and surprise, I've been walking out into the living room to find scenes like this.

Kaelyn was "reading" to Brenden. So sweet!

One afternoon B woke up early from his afternoon nap.  I let him play by himself and he discovered this book - he LOVES it.  He will sit and look at it for 15-20 minutes, just flipping the pages back and forth. 


I don't mind if they pull all the books off the shelves and make a big mess, if then they sit and read the books for awhile! Notice K's bib - she didn't want to take it off after dinner. :) I love that already, at such a young age, my kids are interested in and delighted by books.  I love that I can get a few minutes of quiet time to work on something uninterrupted because they are "reading".  And I love that they are doing it together.




 I love that Bren's book is upside down!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Park Time!

A couple weeks ago, on our last free Sunday morning, before our church moved our meeting time from Sunday night to Sunday morning, we enjoyed a little bit of spring weather at the park. Even though there was still snow on the ground, the sun was shining and it was pretty nice out.  We had the park to ourselves and it was fun to just spend some time together as a family! 

Brenden's first time on a slide!

 We set the camera up and took a few family pics.  Kind of an impromptu photo shoot, but we don't have enough pictures of us together as a family!

Jer took K on this seat that spins around pretty fast...

And this is where they ended up! It was too funny!

Our sweet buddy Bren - such a happy baby!

Daddy and Daughter

Mommy and her babes
(This is K trying to give her best smile) :)

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Some Catching Up

Just some random pics over the last month - sorry it's been a few weeks since I've posted. Life is good and full, and these two keep me busy!

This is Kaelyn's attempt at making a funny face. :)

Brenden was crawling under this table and actually got himself stuck between the legs.  Poor B, instead of helping him I was laughing and had to take a picture.  Luckily he wasn't too upset about it.

Daddy snuggling with the kids after bath time.

I promised some pics of Kaelyn's big girl bed.  So here you go...


And here's a pic of B's two bottom teeth.  Sorry it's blurry, but do you know how hard it is to get a picture of an 8 month old's teeth!

I made Kaelyn a baby sling out of an old receiving blanket.  She likes to carry her babies around in it, just like Mommy!

Mommy and her babes.  I don't get enough pictures of me with the kids - I'm usually the one behind the camera!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Adventures of Brenden

Now that B is on the move, one of his favorite things to do is to crawl under the exersaucer. The only problem is when he's trying to get out and gets a little bit stuck. :)

Look at me, I'm sneaky.

I'm also cute!

Here I go.

Okay, I'm kinda stuck here, a little help please?


Alright I figured it out on my own.

Kaelyn wants in on the fun too!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Cute Kids!

Kaelyn is growing right into her terrible/terrific two-year old self!  Sometimes it seems like she is 2 going on 20! :) She brings both great joy and much frustration to us as parents, and we are trying to learn and figure out as we go, what to do with such an independent, strong-willed and intelligent child.  Although she has her terrible moments, she can also be so sweet, compassionate, loving and caring when she wants to be.  She is becoming more and more independent each day and it is fun to watch her grow and learn.

She recently started picking out her clothes each day. She is quite opinionated about what she wants to wear or not wear.  Most days I just let her wear whatever she wants because it really doesn't matter much.  It's kind of funny to see what she picks out.  Here is a particularly colorful outfit she picked out the other day. :)

Also, Kaelyn has been sleeping in a big girl bed for 2 weeks now. (Pics to come soon!)  I actually can't believe how easy the transition has been, because I was pretty nervous about it.  It almost seems like so much longer than that, but it just seems so normal now.  She is really good about just sitting in her bed and reading her books when she wakes up - it's pretty cute. 

And B got his second tooth this past Saturday, Feb13th.  So he's got both bottom teeth now and he still has such a  sweet smile. (Pics of this coming soon too!) 

Kaelyn and Brenden are also becoming better and better friends.  Brenden always wants to know where his sister is and what she's doing.  They can "play" together as they sit on the floor.  Kaelyn spins Brenden around in his exersaucer and sings "Ring Around the Rosie." And they laugh and laugh at each other.  There is something so sweet and beautiful about the love of siblings.
K likes to climb in B's bed with him when he wakes up from his nap. 

They have so much fun playing in the bath together.  They love to splash and "swim" and snuggle in their towels when they're done!
Our hadsome bathing buddy!

I love that our kids are growing up being so comfortable around animals.  Skiba loves to lay around wherever the kids are playing.

We went to a local children's museum, Healthworks, for playgroup one week.  They painted Kaelyn's face and she thought she was so cute.  Of course she was! 

Jer's parents gave us a bird feeder for our front window for Christmas.  Instead of attracting beautiful birds, it has attracted one fat squirrel.  I watch my friend's son twice a week and he and Kaelyn LOVE watching the squirrel.  What's crazy is that the squirrel has gotten so comfortable that even when they are banging on the window it just stays and keeps eating.  I kind of think it's taunting them, like, 'I know you're there, but you can't really get me, so I don't have to leave.' Hopefully we'll get some pretty birds this spring!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Watch Brenden Grow!

2/4/10
Brenden is 7 months old! And if you can't tell from this picture which was taken 2 weeks ago (the drool all over his shirt), his first tooth finally came through this past Saturday!  He's becoming quite the mover, he army crawls like his sister used to and is getting himself all over the place.  I forget what it was like to have everything baby proofed! He also is babbling a lot and we hear "mama",  especially when he's crying, but I don't think he actually knows what he's saying. :) And even though we just cut his hair a month ago, he's already looking like he needs a trim again! And his hair is getting a little curly.  Wouldn't it be ironic if my boy has cute curly hair while my girl has stick straight hair?

1/20/10 - 7 Months Old 

1/9/10
I'm sure you've all been wondering where Brenden's 5 and 6 month pictures are - well here you go! The wait is over. :)
Wow! 6 months old!  It just goes by so fast! Brenden is becoming quite the little boy - as I write this, he is sitting in his exersaucer bouncing up and down as hard as he can and banging on the toys along the tray.  I don't remember Kaelyn really ever being like that. :)  He has been rolling since about 4 1/2 months and at 5 1/2 months was able to sit by himself, although he has had his share of tipping over.  He is starting to inch along just a little - not crawling, but enough that he doesn't stay in one spot for very long anymore.  He has started solid foods and gets so excited about eating.  No teeth yet, but I'm hoping that they arrive shortly because I definitely think he's teething.  He is still our sweet, smiley, laid back little boy, and it is so fun to see his personality emerge more and more.

10/26/09
Poor Brenden, the second child! I haven't updated this since he was a month old - but, I have been taking pictures along the way, so all is not completely lost!! Here are his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th month pictures. What a big boy he is becoming! He smiles and laughs all the time. He is such a laid back and easygoing baby, he is such a joy and delight to have around. He has really made having 2 babes easy on me (his sister on the other hand, is another story!) :) In typical boy (and probably second child too) fashion, he is a little slow on his motor development. He has only rolled over from his tummy to his back one time, where Kaelyn was rolling at 2 1/2 months. But, he is putting everything in his mouth, and loves it when Kaelyn plays with him - she makes him laugh and smile more than anyone else. He's our little buddy Bren, and we love him so much!

7/20/09
A little late, but here are pictures of Brenden when he was a week old. I wanted to post these to show how much he has already grown! We had his one month appointment last week and he weighed 10 lbs 4 oz.!! He gained over 2 lbs in just 3 weeks!
One Week Old

We started a tradition with Kaelyn of taking her picture every month on her "month birthday" in this chair with the soccer ball - to watch how she was growing. We want to continue that tradition with Brenden. It will be fun to see how much they look alike, and how close in size they will be - do you think Brenden will be bigger because he's a boy? We'll see!

7/20/09
One Month Old

8/20/09
Two Months Old

9/20/09
Three Months Old

10/20/09
Four Months Old


11/20/09 - 5 months old

12/20/09 - 6 months old

And three days later after his haircut - 12/23/09