The Annual Santa Claus Picture

Kaitlyn was super excited to see Santa this year. Jackson didn't want to go near him; except after Kaitlyn had her picture, then he was okay.

It isn't a party until you dance!

Some friends came over for a Christmas Book Exchange this past week. It was fun! Macie McKie asked where the party was when she came over. We think she thought we needed to dance and so did the Duggan gals and Meche kiddos. So after doing a fun craft (really the parents) and eating up, the kids were ready for some dancing! Ah, the joy of laughing and bouncing around! Those are the best times!

Christmas Spirit

Ah, nothing gets you into the Christmas Spirit like making food for friends and family. Today we made some "White Trash Mix" or as I told Kaitlyn, "Holiday Mix." We also put them in pretty boxes. Kaitlyn had as much fun eating it as stuffing boxes.

It Snowed Yesterday

It snowed yesterday! Wow, what a fun morning for us! We just watched and watched and walked around in it. Then it was all done about an hour later. Ahhhh!

Big Boy Bed Time

Today we took off the side of Jackson's crib to make it a big-boy, toddler bed. He does know how to get out of the crib, but really hasn't climbed out often. He is a big boy - over 35 pounds, so putting him in the crib was a big chore for me. We probably could have moved him sooner, but he is just so cute in his bed, and after our Kaitlyn experience, we wanted to keep him in as long as possible.

As Brandon took off the side, Jackson got upset. He thought we were breaking his bed. He didn't want to go near his bed. This afternoon, it was time for a nap and he was ready for sleep. He still wouldn't go near his bed and said that it was broken. I then laid his big doggie in it and started to read to him. We talked about how it is still his cozy bed. He then got in and laid on his doggie. He then didn't want his doggie and I read to Jackson. He stayed in his bed and laid down. He got up once because he wanted another book and then stayed in his bed and fell asleep. Yippeee! The first time went well for him to sleep in the toddler bed. I just hope that this begins a good habit of going to sleep in his bed and not getting out all of the time.

With Kaitlyn, we had a rough time getting her to stay in bed and go to sleep. We moved her when she was 27 months old. We went through several different routines to see what worked best. Bedtime is pretty routine now, but it still takes longer with her because she must have a prayer, story and song before falling asleep. When we moved, we got her a new mattress, but Brandon got a very basic low-grade mattress, we finally traded it in and got her the better mattress. And man, it is so comfortable. That surely will do the trick to put her to sleep fast!!

Next up, Jackson! Keep it up, little man!

Here is a pic of him this afternoon sleeping. Don't know if you can see him well. I didn't want to use the flash.

A little bit silly

We have been focused on wrapping up soccer for Kaitlyn and getting ready for the holidays. Just trying to figure out what to do is crazy. I would love for it to just snow so we could play in it and then get by the fire.

This weekend at the last minute, our neighbor's two high school girls were going to Twilight on Sunday night for the second time and I have been dying to see it so I tagged along. It was great. Even for an evening showing and a small theater, I thought it was packed. They knew a couple of girls who came to the movie and it was their fourth time.

Halloween

Trick or Treat was the phrase of the night. Kaitlyn and Jackson had no idea going up to houses and saying trick or treat would be so much fun and allow them to get tons of candy. We only went up our street and down the next street around the corner and back. In the process, we met several more neighbors and one neighbor across the street gave us a tour of their house. They remodel homes for a living so it was fun to see.

Well, Jackson followed Kaitlyn's lead and she was so excited to watch all the kids running around the neighborhood. One lady had an open house and we could pick out a toy for the kids and a full size candy bar. Needless to say, we picked something for the parents and the kids could have the toy!

I think they had fun just getting out. We went from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. After that, Kaitlyn gave out the rest of our candy to the kids that came by. It was cute how she put a piece of candy in each bag and all the kids used their manners with her to say thank you. I think they were even being extra sweet with her.

Kaitlyn picked out a Snow White costume and Jackson picked out Broby from Yo Gabba Gabba. I think he just liked the green fur! Kaitlyn liked her dress because she could twirl. Of course, Halloween is one of those weird days, but I always had good memories of trick or treating with mom and dad. We all had fun together.

Baylor Homecoming - 100th Anniversary

Yes, we made a little day trip to BU's homecoming this past Saturday! I had been thinking for awhile that I needed to get my Baylor fix! Originally, I was thinking we could drive down early morning and get to the parade around 9 am as it finally gets to campus. Jackson was fighting a little cold late last week so it would be just me and Kaitlyn. We didn't want to drive down by ourselves so I roped my brother and Amy to go with us. Oma and Papa (my parents) went a little earlier than us.

Kaitlyn and I ended up leaving Flower Mound around 7:15 am. We lucked out with a close parking place and walked onto campus right around 9 am. It was perfect weather and campus looked great! We got a place on the curb and caught some candy and saw the floats. The parade was over by 10:15. It seemed a little short this year. A lot of organizations went in together on floats. ZTA did one with ATO. ATO???

We then went over to the Mayborn Museum that is right there on University Park by the old village and alumni center. The museum was pretty cool! If you have little kids, it was a great outing! We spent over an hour there, and that was being really quick. The gal let us in for free, but normally it is about $5 to get in. Kaitlyn really loved it and even said she wanted to have a party there.

We then went to eat. Stephen was craving a gut pack at Vitek's BBQ so we went over there and it is open on Saturdays now. We also stopped by the Baylor Bookstore, and we got a Baylor Claw and I had to get some BU flip flops! I love them!!

We made it back around 4 pm to DFW. Kaitlyn slept the whole time and I think we had a pretty good little day outing! Ah, Baylor! It helped me to get my Bear fix!!!

LAZY BOY!

We were able to get another addition to our living room last week. Brandon's "Lazy Boy" chair. He has some competition for it though. Kaitlyn has been lounging in it all week! And Jackson loves having the couch all to himself!

It's Free and Fun-Pumpkin Style

We went to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. They have tons of silly fun for the kids - pumpkins to pick out, cut-outs, a hay-maze, bounce houses and even kettle corn. We had lots of fun with Emilie, Josh and Julie too.

It's A ...

Well, the latest news with us, besides me feeling ill all the time is that we are having a boy on April 24, 2010. We found out last Friday and we all guessed it may have been a boy, but some thought girl. I knew it when I started craving BBQ.



In other Meche sibling news, Kaitlyn and I went to Mary Poppins. It was a wonderful show and I think Kaitlyn enjoyed it with her friend Kali. Although, Kaitlyn got pretty cranky towards the end. It was a little too long for her, but in the end, Mary flew through the air over the audience and that was fun! Here I am with the kids. This is the best picture I have taken with Jackson. He wanted a picture with me just like Kaitlyn and he smiled on que too. We brought out some toys and things from the attic. The kids have been having a ball with cooking again. We are getting ready for a garage sale Saturday morning! Yikes! These things are a pain, but only if everything doesn't go!!!

Creativity

They say that a child's mind is the most creative between 3 and 5. Kaitlyn's little mind is working overtime. Today, she pretended to be a bunny all afternoon. She stayed in character and ate carrots and drank water. She made her own bunny-home, hopped like a bunny and didn't talk like a bunny. She then proceeded to make a map to her bunny-home.

She helped me fold laundry this afternoon and I think it was her way to get a little more creative with it. We went up the mountain (stairs) to the sticky forest (her room) and then to the secret cave (drawers) to store her clothes. Pretty fun for a 4-year old!

I love it when she is creative. The creative juices are flowing!

Little Jackson - Turning into a True 2 year old

Oh, our little man. Oh, how he is two. His little personality is just coming out in spades. Yesterday, for the first time, he told me to go sit on the couch. He said, "Mommy, sit. Go back." And he was pointing. After I picked up my jaw off the floor, I stepped out of the room. He was hiding so he could go number 2. After that, he came to me and said poopoo. I definitely think I am going to be potty training soon. I definitely don't want to rush it as I would love for the potty training process to take less time with him than it did with Kaitlyn.

He did the same thing today too. He is just so cute cause he has a determined look on his face too. At 35 pounds now, I hardly pick him up. He really is our little man. In Kindermusik class today, if you looked around the room, Jackson was a head taller than the other kids; although, I think some of them are young.

As for our little miss, Kaitlyn just can't wait until she is five. She thinks that she can do a lot more than she can do now, like sit in the front seat of the car. Yeah, but she doesn't realize that Texas has a new law that if you are under 4 ft. 9 inches, you have to be in a booster.

Kaitlyn's First Soccer Game

Calling all sports fans! If you have ever wondered, what 4-year olds look like playing soccer, take a look at some of these pics! We didn't really even know the score until someone asked the ref, but all of the girls had fun chasing and kicking the ball.

I think Kaitlyn loved it because everyone cheered for all the girls and she got to give hugs to the girls on her team when they scored. Brandon had his debut as a soccer coach and I think he was totally nervous. He did great.

We were rushed to find the field because even though we have been in Flower Mound for over 4 months, we just could not find the field or where to park. It was crazy.

The final score was 13 to 12 and Kaitlyn scored five goals. The field is a short little field with a little goal. They play 3 on 3 and there is no goalie.

We decided to try soccer this fall to see if Kaitlyn liked sports. Last year she wasn't too hot on dancing, but she is enjoying kicking the ball around.

Jackson's Birthday Party

Here are photos from Jackson's Birthday Party. He had such a fun time!! He just loved his Elmo party!

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Jackson's Second Birthday

Happy Birthday Jackson!

We can't believe you are TWO! Have a wonderful Day Little Man!!!

We Love You!

Mommy, Daddy and Kaitlyn

Ireland

It has been a week since we went to Ireland. I still don't think I am caught up on sleep or back on Texas time, but that is okay. Ireland was a beautiful country. We spent four days in Dublin and then as the Irish say, "We hired a car to tour the country."

If you have time here is the link to our photos. I cut them down to about 350. A word of caution: I labeled the photos so they are not in order, but I will give you a quick rundown here and that may help with looking at the photos.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=hhuz2tp.4ixt43x1&x=0&y=f12b4m&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_album

If you see a letter in front of the description of the photo, that is for the day so I can remember which days we did what - M, T, W, TH, F, S. We arrived in Dublin Monday around lunchtime. Our luggage didn't make it with us so we wore the same clothes to the Guiness Brewery and Storehouse ADP in Dublin that night. It was so nice of the hotel to provide us with tolietries and some clean underwear!

On Tuesday we toured the Wicklow Mountains and Powerscourt Estate. You will see these photos at the end of the slideshow. It shows an old monestary where the vikings roamed and St. Patrick and St. Kevin converted the people to Christianity in the early 12th century. They began using a Celtic Cross - the circle around the cross because the vikings worshiped the moon and sun.

On Wednesday, we took a quick tour of Dublin mostly in the bus of Dublin Castle, Trinity College, Christ Church where they were filming the HBO show, The Tudors. We also went to St. Patrick's Cathedral.

On Thursday, we went took the train north to Howth. This little town on the sea sits just above Dublin on the East coast. It was cute and had a long trail around the cliffs just outside of Howth.

Surprisingly, Dublin is pretty modern and Americanized. We heard lots of American music, and they had lots of different restaurants, including tons of Italian. We had Italian a couple of nights to get away from all of the beef and beef stew. Frankie's Italian Restaurant in Dublin has great food.

The pubs in Dublin are a dime a dozen and all very Irish and very ecclectic. We went with three other couples from the ADP Dallas office and one of them brought their five month old baby.

On Friday, we got a rental car and began the drive through the country. We did rent a GPS. It helped us a lot; however, we were confused by it a lot because the maps of Ireland are not totally up to date and it showed us driving off of the roads a lot. Brandon got the hang of driving on the other side of the road and how narrow the roads were. Everyone was very relaxed and it was okay to drive slow, but most people drove fast it seemed like.

We went to Cashel, which is an old Cathedral and Abbey sitting on top of a hill. You will see most of these castles and ruins have towers. They kept a lot of valuables in it - up top and a lot of people would try to hide in the top if the town was attacked. In Cashel, the townspeople all came to this Cathedral when the town was attacked and about 800 people ended up dying here. It had beautiful views and our tour guide there was so Irish. His name was Seamus.

We then drove through Cork, the second largest city after Dublin, and to our bed and Breakfast. This is where you see the sheep pics and garden pics. It was a nice bed and breakfast owned by a really nice family. They had a pub and restaurant down the road, very Irish country and so nice. We also went to the Blarney Castle and I kissed the Blarney stone. That was a little scary laying on your back upside down holding onto bars, but Brandon wasn't going to do it and one of us had to!

Then Saturday we were up early and drove around the Ring of Kerry down in the south, most of our scenic pictures are from here. The Ring of Kerry is just a scenic route through a penninsula with tons of history and scenic stops in towns.

We then made our was to Shannon and to our next bed and breafast. I didn't have any pics here because there really wasn't anything to see. We then went to the Cliffs of Moher and those were really pretty. The wind was strong and has been known to blow people off of the cliffs. We then wrapped up Saturday at the Durty Nelly pub next to the Bunratty Castle.

We left Sunday morning early and our plane was delayed five hours. We made it home after almost 18 hours of travel at 9:30 pm. We were so happy to be home.

The kids were with both grandparents while we were gone and did pretty well. This week has been tough getting back into a routine and Jackson and Kaitlyn do not want me to leave them for long. He did cry this weekend when he saw all the family as I think he thought we were going to leave. But overall, the reports were great and they were very busy with playing!

Ireland

Ireland is so cool. The people are really nice and Dublin has a ton to do and see. They like to have a lot of fun too. The pubs are great and we have listened to all of the music and saw some dancing. The Temple Bar area is the place to go.

We are burned out on the Irish beef stew, but believe it or not, we ate at a really good Italian restaurant.

The churches are great and went to Christ Church and St. Patrick's. There are two main Anglican churches and the Catholic churches are hidden away because the Catholics weren't allowed in the early 19th century so it is harder to find those churches. Very interesting history. They were filming an HBO show inside Christ Church and saw some of the setup, but no actors. We got to see where Guinness is made and that is central to Dublin. It has been cloudy, but only rained a little bit at night.

Countdown until Ireland

It is less than a week until we go to Ireland on Sunday! I can't believe and don't know how we are going to make it being away from Jackson and Kaitlyn for a week. It is going to be crazy! Get ready for a ton of pictures coming soon of Dublin and the south of Ireland.

Soccer time

So it is that time of year. We signed Kaitlyn up for soccer. The neighbor, Kaitlyn, who is also four and just two days older than our Kaitlyn signed up and they will be on the same team. They needed more coaches so who signed up - Brandon. He has never played soccer, but they are four year olds. How much are they really going to do? They play three on three on a small field.

There is a coach camp this week and my brother and his girlfriend, Amy came over last night to give some pointers. Amy coaches soccer and Stephen has played since he was very young. Amy said Kaitlyn has a good, strong kick.

So practices should be fun. Amy suggested making a lot of games out of teaching them to kick and stop the ball like all the girls kicking the ball to the coach and playing red light, green light. I think it will be a hilarious, fun time for the kids as well as the parents. I see Kaitlyn's competitive side and I think she will like it. Go Pink Panthers! That will be their name.

Brandon, I am sure will have no problem settling into a coach role. Some friends have said that it takes over on Saturdays! I love the fact that it will be a family affair and this is a big sign of growing up. Ah man, she is growing up too fast! And Jackson is about to be TWO? What is that all about?

And just for fun, here is a picture of Kaitlyn and Jackson. If you come by in the fall, we may just dress them up to "greet" trick or treaters. Maybe a ghost and a goblin. Hahaha. Just kidding. But this is a very good hiding place from me inside as they can totally fit into these windows and close the shutters behind them!

Movie Update

Just a quick update - Kaitlyn had a lot of fun at the movies with daddy. She has been telling everyone since then that he is really funny too. They came home with special 3D glasses from the movie and really liked the squirrel that chases the nut. Brandon even said she laughed at the funny parts and reached out during certain parts because it looked like she could touch it. LOL.

He then took her to the Build The Bear Workshop and she made a bunny she named Sprinkles. What a treat for her. Brandon said he didn't even know that they were going to go there, but he made it part of their special outing. She got it in the special box and that is where Sprinkles sleeps at night.

And while that was going on Jackson has picked up a new trick of jumping up and landing on his bottom, just wherever he is. He thinks it is pretty funny.

Kaitlyn has swimmer's ear and so we have had to stay out of the pool this week. Just in case you ever want to prevent it in the future - just take a cotton ball of alcohol and put that in your ear after you swim. This will help dry out the water in your ears faster. Also, if you get swimmer's ear, the doc said to do half vinegar and half water and put a couple of drops in your ear for two minutes twice a day for 3 to 5 days. If it isn't too bad, it should help to clear it out without ear drops. So cool! The hard part is keeping Kaitlyn down for two minutes!

Around the House

So just about all you can do around here is lay in the pool. Thank goodness we do have the pool for sure! I was sweating just doing a few errands - in and out of the stores. Not much going on around here, except Jackson talking up a storm and Kaitlyn really doing big girl things.

I feel like I am crossing into a "big kid" parent and I don't know how that came about. We are instructing her more to use her manners and how to act in situations than anything else now. I guess not a real big leap from the instructions of "let's share", etc. of when she was smaller; however, we are talking more about stranger danger, how things work in a store or errands and so on.
Jackson is hilarious. We went to a birthday party at a park yesterday. We about died when we were in the sun. A friend brought her newborn and he was just a doll sleeping in his carrier. At this time, it was still not scorching hot. Jackson walked up to the carrier and just stared at him. Jackson noticed he was sleeping and then began to say "Wake Up!" He kind of yells this in a deeper tone. It is really funny.
We then proceeded to the catch and release pond and feed the fish with bread. Jackson took the bread and ate it and then would tear off maybe one or two pieces for the fish. Kaitlyn meanwhile made best friends with the girls and was headed off to throw in tons of bread.

As I am writing this, Kaitlyn went with Brandon to see Ice Age in 3D. I am sure this will be interesting. Brandon has been dying to see a movie with Kaitlyn lately and since we weren't doing much, it was a good time. We will see if Kaitlyn can sit that long for this movie. We haven't really tested this yet, so we will see.

Movies were treats growing up with my mom and dad and that is what today is because we started the chore chart. Really, just a way to reinforce good habits, but I think it is going to be more work for me to be more disciplined. We included normal stuff like brushing teeth in the morning and only a couple of things, but it is time for more responsibility. I can't wait to see how Kaitlyn is doing in a month. Hopefully, a little less of me reminding, pushing, etc. her and more of her initiating her own routine. We are going to need a whole lot of stickers.

Notice Anything?

Notice anything different in this picture? Yep, you guessed it, Kaitlyn got a haircut. She was totally pumped to get a pretty new "do."

Cute pics

I had these taken of Jackson for his 18 month pictures like I did with Kaitlyn; however, I just now got them ordered. We took them right in the middle of moving craziness in April.

There was a field of tons of bluebonnets. Unfortunately, the day we took the pictures, there was a huge wind so you see Jackson squinting in some of them.

We Got Some Visitors Over Here!

Our visitors have come and gone! Brandon's cousins Ashley and Jeremy and Abby came to stay with us for several days this past weekend! It was so much fun! Kaitlyn and Jackson had a blast playing with them! Jeremy is a super fantastic cook! I didn't have to do a thing in the morning. How thankful I was for that since it is so hard to get going in the morning! Abby took the kids on and they loved following her lead. Ashley was all cute in her maternity clothes and can't believe she still has 20 more weeks to go!

We got some photos of Christy and Ashley together too. Thank goodness we had the pool to cool off in! Grapevine Mills mall was a hit too for its candy store with candied apples!

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20th Anniversary Klein Father's Day Bash

So every Father's Day for the past couple of years I have been lugging Brandon and the kids to Lake Lotawana in Missouri just outside of Kansas City for our annual Klein reunion. The Klein Father's Day Bash started in honor of my grandfather, Andy Klein, and we have been celebrating every year.

This year was an exceptional year for the bash as least for our little family. Traveling to KC was a little bit better since the kids were older. Normally, we have cranky kids that don't sleep or through the night and we do not get to visit with family. This year, the car ride was extra long for us as the kiddos got very restless; however, the weekend was terrific.

We got in on Friday in the afternoon. The kids hated the car the last two hours, but we did okay. Oma and papa/Stephen and Amy all followed us up there too. We all jumped in the boat immediately and tubed. Kaitlyn did great the first time on the tube. Amy learned to waterski. And Brandon and I had just about as much fun as anyone could on the tube. He literally laughed so much, I thought his lungs were going to burst. Our cousin Zach drove the boat and Kaitlyn wanted to be his First Mate and help drive the boat. Jackson fell asleep on the boat with his blankie on his head.

The next day all the cousins arrived and we had a blast playing in the water. Kaitlyn caught over 10 fish and loved her princess fishing rod. Daddy helped put the worms on the hooks and she got really good at reeling them in. Jackson loved splashing in the water the most! Kaitlyn even got on the boat with all of her cousins on her own and got on the tube with her cousins, Drew and Jack.

My Uncle Gary brought home movies of all of us cousins from trips with the family. It was so funny to see everyone so much younger like dad without a big belly and lots of light brown hair and his big hats he would always wear. And mom with a PERM! Little Stephen with his little glasses. And to see me jumping like crazy in the pool. I was shocked to see how I stood in some of the video because I see Kaitlyn doing that all the time now! And in this video I was 8. If I get a copy of it, I will post it. I have an almost mullet looking hairstyle. Ok, it was 1985!

We were sad to leave early on Sunday, but Brandon is closing out the year this week with sales. He hopes to make Falcon, which is an honor for selling over his quota for the year.

Here are some photos from the weekend:

Summer time

Well, we have made some progress on the house and have been around Flower Mound. The kids started Montessori and Jackson has had some adjustment since this was his first time to go to school.

His teacher, Ms. Anita, says he is doing very well. He loves splash days and he seems to be going along with the schedule. He goes two days a week from 8ish to 12. This is great because it doesn't interfere with his nap schedule. It was always hard on Kaitlyn when she started Mother's Day Out because her naps were interrupted two days a week. Ms. Anita is very sweet and I think Jackson will like her. He is one of the youngest, but I think there are only 6-8 kids in his room and we love that. He has been upset when I drop him off, but his teacher says that he gets into everything pretty quickly.

Kaitlyn's class is a little larger, but her teachers think she is so sweet. She has already made a friend and she goes Monday to Thursday 8 to 12. On the two days they both go, I go to 7-Eleven for project work.

We also started Gymnastics for the summer. Jackson loves bouncing around and I think Kaitlyn is going to turn into a gym monkey. The place is called WinKids and it a great place that I think they are going to like a lot.
It has been nice to see family more often than visits here and there at the new house and we have had several visits from friends already. And they say the drive isn't too far out of the way.
We are going to Kansas City this week for Father's Day Bash with the Kleins. It should be tons of fun! I know the kids will have tons of fun on the boat.