June is Flying By

June has been flying by. Both Jackson and Kaitlyn were in swim lessons for the last two weeks everyday. We had a trip to KC for Father's Day Bash in the middle and a little dance class and baby signs class started this past Saturday.

My oh my. The kids have been doing great, but are worn out as are we. We have been sleeping in and taking naps wherever we can. KC was a fun trip, but it totally wore us out with the drive. The kiddos have a tough time sleeping when we are on the go in the car and somewhere else. They did great with the gadmillion Kleins we have in the family and everyone couldn't believe how big Jackson is. He is bigger than our cousin's son, Jack. He was well-known for being really big as a baby and is still very tall. Jackson is bigger than him when he was 9 months and that is saying a lot. Jackson as his 9-month appt. this month was 26 pounds and 32 inches. He really is tall. Just looking at him in the crib is amazing. He can stretch his arms from side to side and touch.

This month has been huge for him because he has starting rolling around a ton, sitting himself up, scooting and crawling a little bit. He is dying to walk.

Kaitlyn has had a great month too. She is learning to swim and the swim class did wonders for her. We couldn't get her to put her head under water and now with goggles, she is swimming under water like crazy, holding her breath and going along with daddy. She loves it.

Okay, I am just going to get caught up with some photos of the kiddos and a little swimming video.

Here is Jackson swinging.


Here are some pics from the month.

Here is a quick slideshow of her first dance class. We signed up with the Parks and Rec to see how Kaitlyn likes it.

Here is video of her first time to swim with daddy under water.

It's Work and Play

Okay, so I just have to write this down somewhere and since I am at the computer... I know many of you can see what a happy boy Jackson is, but man this guy tried everything and just does everything with a smile and a baba (really loud). We went to his first swim class today. Kaitlyn's is tonight and they are going everyday for two weeks.

Jackson had to get used to the water, but just did so wonderful with everything the instructor said to do like putting them on their stomach to kick and move their arms and even to blow bubbles in the water. He laughed and said baba a lot through the class. He really loved trying to drink the water as opposed to blowing bubbles. Of course, I think he is used to the water now since we are in the pool, but it was a total different experience. There were other babies and the indoor pool was swamped with people. Plus I was holding him close and at home with both kiddos we don't get to hold him as much. He is in the swim floatie more. We are lucky they both have taken to the water pretty well.

I can't wait to see what happens with Kaitlyn. She is going to go in by herself with the class. Of course, the parents are right there, and she will be with an instructor most of the time. It will be quite interesting I think.

For the Grandparents

Sooo. I have to tell you about this.

It is amazing how innovative kids are. I would have never thought Kaitlyn could have done this and now I am going through and seeing what I can do for kid-proofing. I was with Jackson playing and Kaitlyn went into the kitchen. I just thought she was playing with her kitchen. She went from her kitchen to taking a barstool and putting it next to the fridge. Standing on it to get the candy jar down so she could get a lollipop. I caught her sitting on the barstool with two lollipops. I thought it was totally out of reach for her to get into a candy jar. Wow, three year olds!

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

On Sunday, Kaitlyn and I were running around to a couple of stores together. As long as we are in and out, Kaitlyn does great. It is getting to be more fun to go together because it is just us and we sometimes play games when we are in the store like walking on each side of a display in the aisle and then jumping out to scare each other or something.

We pulled into the Kohl's parking lot because I had some Kohl's cash and we were on a mission to get Brandon a little something for Father's Day. I don't know why, but Kohl's has the biggest letters on their building. They are so prominent that I think you could see them from an airplane. Anyway, we were walking up and Kaitlyn just started saying each letter spelling it out. She said K then O, then H, then L and then S. She hasn't put together that you can sound that out in a word yet. I was so excited because she is really having fun with these letters and words. Of course, after she did that, I said lets sound it out with the letters together.

News flash: Jackson has his first tooth and the second one is about to pop. It is right under the skin. He has been very fussy for the last week, totally not like him. Talk about getting some teeth - When it rains, it pours!

How fast they learn

Oh, it is one of the most amazing parts - watching and learning. Today, while Jackson was taking a nap, Kaitlyn and I played with the chalk on the sidewalk. We weren't making pictures, we were writing. She can write P,9,1,K. Well, those are the ones she liked most to write this morning as well as thinking we were making a Hopscotch board. She likes that game. It amazes me how much she is learning, not just from us, but from everything. Her school has really emphasized, language, letters and numbers. She is ready to move up to the primary classroom and hopefully soon.
Jackson is talking so much. We see the white part of his first tooth. It has taken a month just to see that part. He is a happy little guy and wants to move around badly. He inches whichever way he can however he is sitting or laying. He has a bad habit of reaching for things and in so doing, hair gets pulled alot as well has hitting the face. I have had to wear my hair in a ponytail a lot and he still manages to get my wispys. He is going to be 9 months on Sunday and is wearing 18 month clothes. He is trying to pull up on things and laughs at anything daddy does. He laughs with Kaitlyn a lot too. As for what is going on. One of our bathrooms is in shambles. The cabinet had standing water left in it after a plumber came. It has now been over a month before we could get a new cabinet. And when they pulled out the cabinet yesterday to replace it, they found mold and water stains on the wall. Now we are waiting for the mold-killing spray to dry and for them to come back to put in new drywall. We are lucky the plumbing company decided to pay for it and that we can use the other bathroom for the kiddos. I am glad we don't have too much going on this week or weekend!

What is that?

Sooo we went to Beaumont for Memorial Day. It was fun - hot and we hung out in the pool a lot. We also learned how we can put an outdoor umbrella so it can shade part of the pool for the kids. Jackson loved the water and splashed a lot. Kaitlyn loved jumping into the pool and playing on the steps.

I loved the umbrella idea and have been meaning to get an umbrella for us, that I finally did last night. Kohl's was having a great sale. Can't wait to try it out when the rain stops. This means we can stay in the pool longer. I don't think sunscreen really works that great, and so I have always tried to limit outdoor time in the summer. Although, a friend of mine has mentioned a suncreen at CVS called blue lizard or something like that. It was recommended by her dermatologist.

Wedding Season

Well, we trotted on down to Ville Platte, LA for a wedding this weekend - Brandon's cousin - Josh. He served in Iraq a couple of times. The kiddos did great. We left Jackson with Aunt Bonnie since the wedding was in the middle of the day and we knew it was going to be a long wedding. He was able to get in a good two hour nap and have lots of play time.

Kaitlyn had one too many marshmallows at the wedding and has had a little bit of a tummy ache. She just couldn't hold it on the way home to Plano so we had to make a very quick stop on a side road. Luckily, it wasn't in the car. We had that on the way back and on the way there, Jackson had soiled his outfit a couple of times. Brandon remarked that he was pretty tired of smelling poop all weekend. I laughed. It was just the way he said it because it really was nonstop. But the kids still were happy.

It looks like it is going to be a hot week and we know what that means: Pool Time.

Here are some photos from the weekend. I took a couple of wedding shots that I think turned out really pretty. I just love taking wedding photos. It is the best. I would love to be a wedding photographer, but the hours are crazy. I will just have to settle for being an amateur like in the Olympics.

Attacking the pile

So friends out there who love photos, you will know what I mean, when I say, I am attacking the pile. I have had a huge box, and basically, my pile of photos to be filed, put in books, for scrapbooks just sitting around. I know this is a huge project, and so I let it sit. I know I need a lot of time to work through what I am going to do with everything, but told myself I didn't have the time. The toughest part is getting started.

Finally, I have been inspired. When I was in KC in April, I went with my two wonderful cousins to Hobby Lobby, just so happened to be a huge scrapbooking sale going on, and bought scrapbooking stuff for albums. They also gave me insight into how they are preserving their family memories. I have now devised a plan of attack and have worked a little bit on it every night. I am wading through a couple of years of photos, and it hasn't been too bad because I did try to keep somewhat organized at the time.

And to make things even better, I just received the Exposures catalog. They are having a huge sale on photo albums right now. I can't wait!

So here is my plan: I have a baby scrapbook album for the first year of both kiddos. I will have a scrapbook for each kiddo going forward and just make a two spread layout for each birthday and then another spread or two for the year's highlights. I will then have a family book just for the holidays and special highlights.

Other than that I will have yearly photo albums with the year embossed on each. The photo albums in Exposures allow you to add or remove pages so I can probably do a book a year, I hope. It sounds like a lot of work, but really in a year's time, I think it is a reasonable goal. Also, I plan to contact friends who love to scrapbook. This is the bring a buddy to workout strategy, then you will definitely have to scrapbook!!

If anyone has any other helpful ideas, send them my way. I hope to be on my way to photo organization heaven soon!

Like Spring, there are changes around

Do you hear it? It is Jackson! He has been talking up a storm. Oh, the changes that are going on right now are amazing. It is like everything just clicks and so many things are starting to happen at once. He is saying bye/bye and mama. I think he may be associating these with the right meanings, but maybe it is just really trying to get into conversation around here with a talkative big sister.

I am beginning to see him push around on the floor and he is enjoying his sister joining in more to feed him. He is about to get his first tooth. It is about to push through the gum any day now. We are just waiting because he has been fussy, drooling like crazy, and sleepless, not to mention the diapers!! Kaitlyn enjoys him trying to chase her around in the walk around toy.

Today, at Jackson's Kindermusik class, we were singing the bye-bye song and waving. He started saying bye bye. Miss Jeanie pointed it out and was amazed how he kept going for the whole song. We are doing this class in the fall with both kids again because they loved it so much. Kaitlyn will move up to be with the 3 to 5 year old class where she will go by herself and then the parent joins for the last 15 minutes of class. It has definitely sparked a music interest in Kaitlyn. We will definitely miss the parent/child classes. They are so fun and just another milestone of Kaitlyn growing up too fast!

When parents think everything is funny...

I have to share this little tidbit. I called Brandon right after to share it, and we of course have a good laugh over it.

I have both Kaitlyn and Jackson's baby/kid books out because they have been doing so many things. Jackson is turning and reaching like crazy on his belly, like he is trying to crawl. He has the arm and leg thing down, but can't seem to lift his big belly up. My back has been killing me lately trying to pick him up so I can see why he is having such a hard time!

So back to the original story... Kaitlyn was playing in the little area that is fenced off from the pool, and I went inside to check and watch Jackson. He was playing on his belly. Kaitlyn was having a snack at her picnic table. I brought Jackson out with me five minutes later and Kaitlyn had pulled three juice boxes out of the little pool fridge and put the straws in. Also, there were about four Cheezit crackers by every box. I started to say that we don't get all of these extra drinks out, but I stopped myself. I asked her who these snacks were for and she said some of her friends' names: Jake, Caroline, Matthew, Zoe and of course Jackson. It was so cute. I guess she just wanted to prepare for our little Cinco De Mayo party we are hosting on Monday at our house. Kaitlyn has already named the pinata, Benny. I hope she doesn't mind us hitting the crud out of that thing on Monday!

Shake the Maracas!

While I was away, look what the kids were up to with Daddy!! We can't believe how coordinated Jackson is. He watched Kaitlyn's every move!


This weekend was my dad's birthday and I flew with him to KC for his best friend's retirement party. It was very quick. We flew in Saturday morning and flew out Sunday morning. It was a great trip and I could hang out with family without having to worry about taking care of the kids. It was a really nice trip and a lot of fun. We even ate at Jack Stack, our favorite Bar B Que restaurant in KC. We always have to get the BEST Bar B Que in the country when we are in town! I was even back in town to go to a swim party for Kaitlyn's friend.

It looks like Brandon had fun with the kids and was even able to do a little housework while I was away. They had a playdate Brandon's friend John and his two kids. John's wife, Amy, also was out of town. Brandon then took the kids to Gatti Town, kind of like Chuck E Cheese. He said it was tough to try and get food, watch the kids and play. I am sure Brandon is having a tough Monday as it was a pretty full weekend.

Weekend Fun

What are you going to do with a three year old who loves the pool and sees that daddy is ready to jump in for the first time this year? They jumped in for about five minutes and then got out. The water was cold, but she didn't complain. She, in fact, splashed around and laughed. She even came over to help daddy because he was so cold in the pool. Since it was still cold, we took her out and dried off, but she loved every minute and can't wait to get back in. We are definitely in need of swim lessons and soon. Okay, so I have a project for the week - get Kaitlyn in swim lessons!


Jackson will have to check them out too. He still has yet to make his debut in the pool. Yesterday, he was entertained in the exersaucer by the pool. However, I think he is teething so much right now that he was more interested in chewing on a teething ring than the activity in the pool.

Sweet Relief

Ah, the sweet relief! No more rubber bands (I wore them straight from November to April.), protruding wires or bands, and trying to brush/floss around braces! Yeah! I was so ready to get them off.

The Kiddos

Kaitlyn is a real girl. I keep telling myself everyday. Her conversation with me is getting to be so much fun because she laughs at the things I say. She also is not crying as much anymore. I never thought it would end. We have tried to focus on family time and bringing all of us together so that she is used to all of us as one big happy family doing things together. She still likes to say and remind me that I am HER mommy or Brandon is HER daddy.

Sooo, Jackson just can't stand to lay down anymore. He loves to sit up, even stand. We have taken the bouncy seats away and have replaced them with jumperoos and other contraptions. He also loves making faces, but we haven't been able to catch that yet.

He is just so easy. I have been noticing him want to move around a lot more. He just seems to have this eternal energy pack and then konks out right after a burst. Like today, he played in is jumperoo, jumping and moving it back and forth for a long time. Shortly after, I got him ready for bed and he was asleep in less than five minutes.

I got a new toy for him last fall for $10 at a consignment sale. I brought it out today to see if it was going to be a hit. It looks like it just might be. Here is a little sample of his first try out of this walk about toy today.

Blog O Rama

So I think this weekend had to have been one of the busiest in a very long time and it almost could be made into a song, I think. Kaitlyn, Jackson and I went to Matthew's third birthday party at an airplane museum Friday morning. Brandon and I went to Aunt Christy's birthday party in Fort Worth that night. On Saturday, we had a plumber over to help fix leaks and replace faucets. What a mess that turned out to be. We still really need to try and cut into the wall to replace a pipe for our shower because it leaks horribly.

Jackson, Kaitlyn and I then went to another birthday party on Saturday. Brandon had to stay home with the plumber. And then... I rushed to get ready with Brandon putting on some knobs on the shower last minute so I could meet up with some friends for a bachelorette party. We tasted wine and made our very own batch of wine at a place called Swirl in downtown Dallas. We then went to have dinner at 9 pm at La Duni. I actually did pretty well all things considered and even made it until 11:30 pm.

On Sunday, I finished planting flowers in the front yard. (Started this on Saturday as well as running to the nursery to buy some flowers.) We also went over to see a newborn baby of our friends Brad and Emily, Hayley, that night.

The kids actually did pretty well this whole weekend, considering all of the craziness. Kaitlyn had a meltdown on Saturday when her balloon flew up into a tree. Jackson actually had a small one on Sunday. This was absolute pandemonium this weekend and I don't even know how it got started or how we ended up doing everything. And how did we do this? This is what I call: See the egg in the pan. Hear it sizzling. This is your brain on drugs. This is Sarah on drugs. Haha. I am halfway through my prescription of steroids, and boy have they made things go haywire for me. I am going and going and I feel tired, but I just can't stop. Plus, my waistline is killing me. It is making me more hungry than ever. Just a couple more days.

On a side note, I have one more week until my braces are off! I am soooo pumped!

So here are some pictures of the weekend!!!

What? A facial?

So what is happening over here at the Plano Meches? Well, we have got birds, rashes and a whole lot of bubbles.

The kiddos are great! We have enjoyed a new doggie bubble machine outside and Kaitlyn can control the bubbles, which she loves. Jackson is amazed at the bubbles. We have a couple of birthday parties this week, one at an airplane museum and one at My Gym. The one at the airplane museum is on Friday, and I will be manning the Meche ship by myself with the kiddos in Dallas.

We have a visitor who has decided to stay indefinitely. Mama bird has made a nest in our back arbor and is making babies with daddy bird. I had a front row seat the other day. I am sure we can expect baby birds very soon. Luckily, we do not hear any chirping yet. I will have to add a picture when I have more time. I am about dead from running errands today and picking up my prescription.

Yes, I said prescription. I was scratching my neck last night and this morning, but didn't think anything of it. It was still itchy this morning and I looked in the mirror, and I had a whole HUGE rash going. Then as the day progressed, I then noticed my ear was twice the size of the other one, and then I noticed my face was very, very puffy, red and itchy! I went to the doctor this afternoon, and it looks like I am allergic to something in the facial I received this weekend.

Brandon was so sweet and picked a spa gift certificate from his work a couple of months ago when they were handing out prizes to the sales team. I was able to use it this past weekend for a massage and facial. This place is super expensive and base their products on the "Oh, Naturale" of organic products. Obviously, my body just didn't agree.

So now, I got a steroid shot in my buttocks, where I still can't feel, and oh so does not feel good right now. I also have meds for 10 days. What a bummer; however, I don't look like a beat anymore. Thanks for letting me take a moment and WHINE.

On the bright side, a friend is getting married this month and her girls' night out party is this weekend. We are going to go make wine!! We each get several bottles. If you are still reading this blog (heehee), let me know if you want a bottle and I will get one to you. I am not sure how many I will be able to keep, so first come, first serve.

Meow!!

I am so sorry for the delay in posts. There has been a lot of activity I want to post all of it, but that will have to wait until Monday when I usually have a moment to post.

This is just the cutest! We went to GATTITOWN today. (And you have to say it like Jim Carey.) We ate pizza and played some games. But the best part was the face painting for $3 in the movie room area! Kaitlyn loves cats right now so she became a cat for a day! Kaitlyn was saying this after her face painting, "Meow, I am a kitty cat!"

Portrait Time

So I don't know about other moms, but I love portraits of my kids. They are so much fun, well most of the time! Kaitlyn is a Pro! She laughed and giggled for almost all of the shots. We were taking photos for almost an hour and it wasn't until the end that she didn't want to do it anymore. I guess I give her a lot of practice at home. Jackson was happy after he ate, but he couldn't get over how excited Kaitlyn was.

So these are Kaitlyn's 3 year pictures and Jackson's six month portraits. They are in their Easter dress. You can't tell, but Jackson has a little tie on and that is so fun for little boys.

Time for an update

It's time to update! Boy am I in the mood to clean. We have got to get organized around here from clothes to toys. I want to have a garage sale soon!

We just unpacked from a trip to Beaumont to Brandon's family. It was crazy. It was sleeting on Thursday when we left and bad weather. We hoping to beat it, but rain followed us the whole way. Luckily, the kids did great! Kaitlyn played with Jazz, their Bichon Frise dog, the whole entire time. Gigi and Big Daddy have a laundry area where Jazz stays and Kaitlyn could have stayed there the whole time. Jazz did pretty well with her too and I think they became fast friends.


Well, we have caught the flu over the last two weeks. Now Jackson has a bad cough and Kaitlyn has congestion, but they are still pretty happy so that has been a saving grace. I was bad off last week and had absolutely no energy to do anything.

Jackson is off the charts. At his six month check up, he was over the charts for height and up there for weight, close to 100 percent. He has some great little hammies as Stephanie likes to put it. He has a great trick now too. He can pick up his pacifier, turn it around and put it in his mouth. He can also pick up a cup and put it in his mouth. He is reaching for everything now too. He especially likes hair, so ladies watch out!

Kaitlyn is doing great. She is happiest when she is outside playing around. She is talking even more now. She is very challenging right now and is definitely challenging authority. She has been doing it for awhile, but I do see improvements. Consistency is key to parenting, definitely!

Two big things in the last couple of days. Yesterday I used a bathtub ring to put Jackson in. He just didn't fit in the baby tub. He absolutely loved it and kicked around the whole time. We kind of thought he started kicking when we said to kick, but that was probably just a coincidence.

We also decided to go with Britax Marathon car seats for the kids. They go up to 65 pounds and that will be great for Jackson. They look pretty comfortable. I got the best deal on them too from babycatalog.com. They had a sale on them last weekend. Maybe they will do another one soon. At Babies R Us, the seats are $270. I got each for $189 with no sales tax and no shipping. I was so pumped!

Sorry for the short blog. I am not sure if it is just the mood lately or being on the computer less. It is hard to get on here and be very productive because I am pulled in so many directions in the day. Maybe that is why my focus is nonexistent right now. It is so easy to get pulled into my own little world with the kids and stay there.

Snow!

It snowed last night! Kaitlyn got out a little bit this morning and ran around in her mismatched hat and coat. We could only find one mitten too! Ha!

Quick Bit

Today, I was so excited to go to the ortho. I thought I would be getting great news - getting my braces off! I was all set to post pics on the blog; however, I have another six weeks to go. The official date is April 16. It has been set and all I have left is a countdown! Yeah!

Even though I can't wait to get these things off and it is killing me right now, I am glad I did it. My teeth and my bite feel better. I won't be self conscious about smiling or talking. Can't wait!

Random Thoughts

Thought I would blog some random thoughts this morning as the last couple of weeks I have been making it a habit on Monday mornings to post something. Right now, Jackson is sleeping, Kaitlyn is at school for the morning, and it is the calm before the storm. Once Jackson wakes up, I will have to feed him and then we are off to a Kindermusik class, which he loves, and then to pick Kaitlyn up from school. I must rush to pick her up because she stays late so we can go to the class. Then come home, make lunch for all of us, including Jackson as he is starting baby food, and then off to take naps. It is quite a day, Monday that is.

This morning started out normal until Kaitlyn decided she didn't like the shirt she was wearing. I did indulge her this morning and she finally ended up with a shirt with a happy face on it and a skirt. Since it is going to be 80 today, okay fine, but it is still a little cold this morning and they go play on the playground so I put leg warmers on her called Baby Legs. She at first fought me on those, but I told her that she should show all of her friends at school. She liked that idea. Man, my brain may not be getting a good workout like it used to, but I certainly have to be more creative than ever. I have got to be one step ahead of Kaitlyn all of the time. Sometimes I don't even realize how she starts down one path and leads us to what she is wanting in the first place. Ahhh, she knows!

I just keep wondering how Jackson is going to pick up on this. Our biggest challenge right now with Kaitlyn is the whining and crying. I am trying to stay consistent, and am wondering how we can get out of this stage. It has driven me to insanity a couple of times, however, I think I am developing an immunity because Brandon is the one dealing with it on the weekends.

I have to laugh now because Kaitlyn has developed a huge curiosity of restaurant bathrooms. For the last month, any time we have gone to a restaurant, we have made at least two pit stops for potty time. I don't want to tell her no the other times because sometimes she does need to go a couple of times. I can tell you all of the nice bathrooms around us for sure!

Jackson is going to be six months on Saturday! Yeah, and he is just a sweetie. I don't want him to grow out of this stage. Now I know what is ahead of us as he gets older and he can stay six months! I loved this stage best with Kaitlyn too. Of course, I love all of the stages as they have been great so far, but it has definitely gotten more challenging, always enjoyable, as they grow.

Goodnight Moon

I have always wanted to go and now we did it. We went to the Dallas Children's Theatre this weekend. This month there was the production, "Goodnight Moon." For a couple of months when Kaitlyn was 2, she wanted only the Goodnight Moon book to be read to her before bed.

She knows it pretty well so we thought this would be a good play to take Kaitlyn to for the first time. I packed tons of things in case Kaitlyn was not going to do well in the play. I thought she would sit and like it, but who knows as we are going into uncharted territory. As I have mentioned before, Kaitlyn is our curious explorer, our adventurer, so she has always put us on high alert for the unexpected.

When we drove up, we saw tons of families going into the theatre and we were almost an hour early because the box office told us it was going to be packed. Kaitlyn was sleeping in the car so I waited as long as possible as the boys went in to get in line.

She woke up and we walked in a little before it started. She handed her ticket to the ticket person and led me into the theatre where Brandon got a good seat in the front with plenty of room to spread out with Jackson. Kaitlyn had her own seat and when it started, she sat with her eyes glued to the stage for the first act - 25 minutes. The theatre was actually pretty quiet considering all of the kids under the age of 4. Kaitlyn even swayed to the songs they sang and pointed to the bears and cow. They had some cute effects and the actors were great.

The last 25 minutes was good too, but for the last five minutes you could tell all of the kids had reached their limit. There was a lot more noise. Kaitlyn got up and danced a little bit too. She also held Missy (her baby doll) the whole time and had her dance a little too. Kaitlyn also at intermission went down with other kids for her birthday month and they sang to her.



Afterwards, the characters signed her playbill and Kaitlyn showed them all Missy.

Brandon held Jackson the whole time and gave him a bottle. Man, we lucked out. I am always preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. I think we are getting the hang of this thing called a family of four! It was a fun afternoon. Jackson did well and Kaitlyn did well too. What a success!

Love is in the air

Ah, love is in the air. Valentine's was yesterday, and yes, Brandon delivered flowers to his wife and daughter along with chocolate. Flowers just make the house smell so good. Brandon received his annual Valentine's boxers. The tradition goes way back. Even though we didn't do anything like going out, we did have a family dinner all together and that was really nice. We had no interruptions for once and were able to just sit and relax for a moment. Those are the times to really cherish right now because peace and harmony in a house of small-children is extra sweet.

Jackson and Kaitlyn also attended a little party with friends Matthew and his brother Andrew and Caroline and her sister Hailey. It was great weather so we were able to eat outside, make hats and play in the sandbox. We were over at Matthew's house for four hours. I couldn't believe how long we were over there and the kids did really well, except for the usual shenanigans. Kaitlyn has to explore rooms that are off limits and has been pushing a little bit. She is still pretty tough when it comes to sharing and are working on it. I am sure Jackson will give her a run for her money as he gets older.





Kerri, Wendy and I actually had a couple of small conversations in between, how lucky were we! And Jackson did great and charmed everyone. He loved when the kids would stop and smile at him. They couldn't get over how relaxed and easy going he is. Yes, exact opposite of his older sister.

As usual, today I dropped Kaitlyn off at school and brought Jackson in to sit by the front desk as I walked her back to her class. He always makes a friend up there. Miss Tiffany and Miss Francine were just cooing up a storm with him and making him laugh. He was so happy and charmed the socks off of everyone there. Even other moms were stopping to check him out. He just eats up the attention!


In Kaitlyn news, she can sing her ABCs all the way through by herself. I was so excited to hear her do it at home for the first time this week! She has a hard time pronouncing l's and getting through the L,M,N,O,P part is funny, but she knows it well. Music has definitely been the highlight of the month since enrolling her in Kindermusik and singing at school. She asks about music class all of the time!

Kerri asked me yesterday if there was a difference between a boy and a girl, and that made me think. I guess yes there is, but right now it just seems as though they are just two different little people not because they are a boy or a girl. I just see their different personalities. I am sure as he gets older he will have different interests than Kaitlyn. Right now, I see that he loves to eat and eat and eat, but I have heard some baby girls do that too.

Kaitlyn's 3rd Birthday Party

It is Superbowl Sunday and the fun just doesn't stop. Kaitlyn turns three on February 5 and we had a super-duper, fun birthday at Pump It Up Jr. on Saturday. Her immediate family joined in some fun with Aunt Becky and Layna (nanny/godmother) coming too.

She had all of her friends come to join in some bounce house fun. The slides and bounce house gym was perfectly sized to two and three year olds. The kiddos rolled in and played for almost an hour on just about everything. I think the slide was the hit. Kaitlyn did the slide a couple of times. I think she was amazed that she knew everyone there. She couldn't get into just one thing because of so much going on; plus when we were in the middle of playing, she decides that she is super hungry. Oops, we remembered everything, except to feed the kiddo a snack before the party.

Once we were in the playroom ready for cake, Kaitlyn warmed up a little. She really liked sitting in the over-sized chair while we sang to her. She pretty much stayed in that chair and then opened presents the whole time. We could have stayed there for a long time visiting, but the employees had to kick us out for the next party.

Overall, it was a success and I think Kaitlyn liked it. I think she was a little overwhelmed with the size. She loved blowing out her candles and the slide always gets her attention. I didn't think I had to lead her around as much as I did, but lately she has been sticking close. She sees me with Jackson a lot and wants me more. Jackson on the other hand, was passed around to different family members and did really well. He couldn't be a more easy-going, go-with-the-flow baby if he tried. I also thought I would have to tough things out on Sunday and the next day to even out from the weekend, but he is doing just fine. How lucky are we? He has just been hanging out and smiling, maybe it is being five months. Kaitlyn was pretty awesome at five months too.

After the party, we went home and opened some presents and Kaitlyn got an old school tricycle from Oma and Papa. She liked riding it in front of all of her family too. Afterwards, we went to dinner at Ralph and Kacoos. Kaitlyn got a sundae for her birthday and licked the spoon like an ice cream cone. Since she doesn't normally like ice cream because it is cold too cold for her, this was a new experience for her.



Here are photos of the birthday party.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hhuz2tp.9kl4qkol&x=0&y=ot0v7x

What Happened to the 80s and Messy Faces

Totally 80s

So this weekend, Brandon and I had grandparents come over and we went to a Totally 80s party for our friend Judy Zafereo for her 30th birthday.

We got all geared up and bought outfits at the Goodwill store. Do we look like anyone you know? I think we kind of resembled Napolean Dynamite and Deb from the Napolean Dynamite movie. My shoulder pads in the jacket were huge! It was totally 80s. We also rolled up our jeans. I think the headband in Brandon's wig was the perfect touch, don't you? We went to dinner and then the skate Rink. Skating was great. Brandon, on the other hand, didn't fair as well. He fell numerous times and couldn't get the hang of it again. I had him beat hands down. LOL. I couldn't believe they still had tons of kids at the rink on a Saturday night.



Messy Faces

In other news, since when is it good for a baby to start spitting every time he is in his seat ready to eat his rice cereal or any other food? Brandon and I have been drenched in rice cereal for the past three days with little Jackson spitting every bite back at us. He just gets too excited. I think he really likes eating like the rest of us, but loves to blow bubbles when he is happy, not too fun when it is time to eat though. How can I combat this? It is funny; However, I can't be washing my hair in the middle of the day trying to get all of the rice cereal out. Here is to finding a way to get around the spitting.

Meanwhile, Kaitlyn has taken her Curious George stamp set and decided it was a good idea to stamp her cheek. She really enjoyed stamping everything with Curious George. I had to laugh after I came back with Jackson from changing his diaper. Maybe she just missed getting her face painted like in the fall or just wanted to keep Curious George with her at all times. LOL.

Spring just got busier

The theme of this week is, "Even though the days are long, the years are short." This advice was given this week by a friend referring to our kids' baby and toddler years. I can't tell you how long these days are right now, especially when the kiddos don't sleep well.

Although, I have to say, Jackson is amazing me day by day. He just goes with whatever is going on and is so flexible. He slept three hours today in his afternoon nap and about two hours in his morning nap. We also got out for a playdate at the mall's indoor playground with some friends.

What wears me out the most when we go out is Kaitlyn's activity. She could not stay in the playground area today, she had to go out and explore stairs several times, push other kids and jump off of stuff and hit her head. I had thought we got past some of these things, but they always seem to come up when she is hungry, tired or overstimulated.

However, the more outings and excursions we have, the better she is getting. I can now go to a store for at least 20 minutes and she stays by me. That is a huge improvement in the last couple of months. She also played with her friends very nicely most of the time. She is very engaging and energetic.

She also did very well at church and did not run off. Sometimes I think what else can we do, but in Kaitlyn's case, she has a very strong-willed personality.

Through all of this today, Jackson is just hanging out and watching everything. He loved seeing other babies. He is so easy to please. I pray that he will keep this up because Kaitlyn has worn me out.

Today, I signed Kaitlyn and Jackson up for the music program for babies and toddlers called Kindermusik. I think I got a really good teacher too. This program is based in music and helps with the development of language, creativity and sets the stage for a musical foundation. I think this will be super for Jackson, but also Kaitlyn as she begins to explore other activities this year like dance. Kaitlyn always loved singing and music in her Mother's Day Out program. We also receive a lot of materials to do at home. With this, I hope Kaitlyn and Jackson do not inherit my lack of rhythm.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to overbook us. I think we would go insane. But this will be my first endeavor at trying to keep up with two kids with each one in an activity.

Storytime

Lately, there seems to be a change in one of my two kids almost everyday. I either hear Kaitlyn becoming more articulate or see a new idea taking shape in her head. Jackson seems to hit a growth spurt every month and will not sleep until he his belly is full.

Last night was just so sweet. I know Kaitlyn had to see that I thought she was so endearing because she looked at me and played up to my "ahhhhs." Brandon came home around 6 pm from work and was then going at 7 pm to play basketball. Around 6:45 he was about to leave and Kaitlyn asked him to play with her. She asked if he was going somewhere and then asked where her shoes and coat were. She said she wanted to go too. She looks forward to him coming home everyday to play legos or color or anything else she finds for them to do. It was just so cute to see how she wanted him to stay. I always find that when he hasn't been here for the entire weekend that she misses him more. Last weekend he went on a short trip to Houston for a wedding.

I also think Jackson brings out the "mama" in Kaitlyn. He is so easy going and just goes with whatever is going on in the house. He hardly ever cries if Kaitlyn is crying unless he is super tired. The last couple of days Kaitlyn has been helping more to change diapers and even held him in her lap to read him Curious George. He was enjoying the story until she was loosing her grip on him. I asked if he was too heavy for her and she nodded emphatically. He is pretty solid and wearing six month outfits and a few 6-9 month sleepers.

Pictures from January 2008

Here is a quick slideshow of our activities in January.

Jackson is eating rice cereal. Kaitlyn is playing with chalk. She is quite the little chef these days and made little pizzas, but wouldn't eat her delicious creation. Hmmm???

Jackson eating his fingers have become a daily routine and rolling around has put us on alert for keeping him safe.

Side Notes

We have had quite a week and a half with Kaitlyn getting Strep throat last week. She had a fever for four straight days and nights. We were worried about her, and felt so sorry that she was feeling so sick. We are now getting back to actually getting dressed during the day again. Well, it is nice for her just to sleep through the night again.

Jackson is as happy as a clam watching all the activity in the house. He has started trying some rice cereal and thinks of the feeding as another fun activity. He eats so much that we have been supplementing with formula a lot. I am not sure how much longer nursing will last but, we are trying to keep it up for as long as possible. He is definitely getting enough to eat now because he has been sleeping better, around 8 pm to 5 am, sometimes to 6. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to get some sleep the last couple of nights. The last time I got a good night's sleep or at least seven hours of sleep was in early July.

We must resolve a warranty issue with our computer monitor at the store so I am using my laptop right now. I am trying to see how I can download my photos on here so I can post some. Stay tuned.

2008 Has Started Off with a Bang!

Talk about a wild first two weeks of 2008. I worked last week to plan Kaitlyn's third birthday party and we even tried the place out first - a little indoor toddler bounce house called Pump It Up Jr. Kaitlyn loves to bounce like a monkey so I thought this would be fun for her.

This week, we have had a sick little monkey. Kaitlyn has strep throat and has a pretty high fever every day this week. She still had a little fever tonight and am relying on Motrin to help keep it down.

Meanwhile, little Jackson started drooling like crazy and rolled over today from back to front. He is all over. He is moving a ton! He can grab everything on the Baby Einstein mat. His favorite thing to do is to kick the hanging fish on the bouncy seat. Maybe we have a little soccer player. He can kick pretty hard!

And What Would New Year's Be Without...

And what would New Year's be without lots of fun activities. We celebrated daddy's birthday with a fun night out to Macaroni Grill and yummy chocolate cake. We also celebrated Kaitlyn's friends, Kali and Rhys' birthdays, along with visiting some high school and college friends to see their kiddos. We went to bed early last night and slept in this morning for New Year's. It was quite nice after the flurry of activity.

Holiday Craze!

Happy New Year! This holiday season has been a wild ride. From packing up the kids to celebrate Christmas with families in Fort Worth and Kansas City to mailing holiday cards to very cold weather, we are ready for 2008 to be a great, but quieter year.

We had several Christmas celebrations. Earlier in the month, we celebrated with Brandon's family in Fort Worth. We spent the night there too. The Christmas tree was full and very pretty. Because of Maggie and Jackson, it took us most of the day to exchange presents. Kaitlyn found a bag of marshmellows and poured them out into a nice, little pile and started helping herselft to one marshmellow at a time. That was pretty funny. The hit of the weekend was to see Maggie dedicated at their church.

We traveled just before Christmas to Kansas City this year in the snow. It snowed on the way, on the way back and some in the middle. We also found out that in Texas they put water in the winshield wiper tank. It froze up and so we couldn't wash the winshield. Thank goodness we had snow. Later, we put some antifreeze in, but it was quite comical that we weren't too prepared for the cold. We stayed with my Aunt Linda and Uncle Butch and their two kiddos - Zach and Kia. I really thought the tough part was going to be the traveling, but the hard part turned out to be naps and going to bed. Kaitlyn was so revved up from seeing cousins, a new house to explore and many more fun and exciting things, that she really had a hard time going to sleep. Jackson on the other hand was still a dream, but he didn't like the pack and play and slept with me in the bed. He took up the whole bed with pillows around him and stretching out.

Christmas Eve was a blast with little cousins running around. There were crafts and stories, too. The older girl cousins told the story of the Night Before Christmas with some special effects. We even took up some Italian traditions for Christmas since the dinner theme was Italian. There was a Christmas log and you write your worries you want to forget on paper and tie them to the log. Then toss the log into the fire to take your worries away. The little cousins exchanged presents and Jackson gave Drew a pretty cool car race track. It was the hit of the party as all of the kids played with it.

Jackson is four months today! I can't believe it. He is growing so much. He is showing signs of getting ready to roll over. He loves to move his legs and laugh with us. He is even ticklish on his sides. He can almost stick his whole fist in his mouth. He is teething already and right now looks like he is constantly hungry. I don't know how many growth spurts this kid is going to go through, ha! His new favorite toy is a green dinosaur and holds on to it a lot. So it used to be Kaitlyn's as mostly all of his toys are Kaitlyn's old toys. However, now he has a lot of new toys from Christmas to enjoy as he gets a little bigger. Yeah!


Kaitlyn just loves her baby brother. She likes to help him play and take pictures of him. She is pretty much potty trained now except that we still have to remind her to go. She still wears a pull up at night, but does wake up dry when she doesn't have anything to drink before bed. Right now, she is in a stage where she likes to cry like Jackson to get attention and we are working hard on patience. I am finding out how much of a softy I am when it comes to them.


This year we plan to get Kaitlyn in dance. We are going to first try out Ballet with her friend Zoe in late January sometime. I hope to get involved with Gymboree with Jackson like I did with Kaitlyn. Then in the spring it will be time for swimming! Yeah, we can't wait to get in the pool.

"The Best Santa in DFW"

So I should be packing for our trip to KC tonight, but...

We took Kaitlyn and Jackson to see Santa Claus today, and I had to scan and post the picture we got with Santa!

He is the real deal! We actually ran into Brandon's friends from college, The Malhoits, who just had a baby boy, Barrett, while waiting in line. We all waited together which made the two hour wait go by a little faster. They told us that this Santa Claus is recruited heavily by malls in the DFW area. His beard and everything is real. They also said that he gets a pretty huge paycheck. I can believe it. We paid $14 just for one 5x7.

He was pretty sweet to Kaitlyn and she was so excited to see him; however, from the picture you would never know it. She became very shy when she walked up to him and sat on his lap. I think if we would have been able to give her a little time, she would have talked his ear off. While waiting in line, I couldn't pull her away from watching him.

I don't think Jackson is too comfortable. We were all talking to get Kaitlyn to smile and then they shook some bells that were kind of loud. I think Jackson was very ready to go home and go to bed after this mall experience.

Meche Christmas!

We still can't believe it is Christmas. We haven't been able to get out with our two little munchkins for Christmas activities much. Shoot, we don't even have our pictures back yet to put in our Christmas cards. But what we do have, are two wonderful, healthy children and will have a happy Christmas with family.

This past weekend, we celebrated with Brandon's family. It was quite a day with two little babies and a toddler, not to mention us big kids. Kaitlyn is very interested in Christmas stories, Christmas trees and Santa right now. She enjoyed hanging ornaments on the tree this weekend and playing with the presents. She loved her Dora backpack and the little jump house with balls.

We also went to the mall to hear Santa tell a Christmas story. We were a little late and stood in the back for a little bit with our friends Caroline, Hailey and Kerri; However, Kaitlyn and Caroline still had a great time sitting on the sit and stand stroller together and walking through the mall hand in hand.

Jackson is a little out of sorts because of the weekend, but hopefully, he will be well rested for our trip to KC. We are flying up there and driving back. It will be quite the trip. We are praying for safe, warm weather.

For pictures go to: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=hhuz2tp.a4t4euil&Uy=-go2zzi&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=91990962570_167430800605

Rest and Repose

It is always nice to get a break from the normal hum-drum of everyday life. In our case (Brandon and I), we were in desparate need of some time to relax and get back to just us. Brandon's company came to save us and whisked us off to Cabo, Mexico in early December for a couple of days this past week. It was a tough decision, but I decided to leave Jackson at home. We are very glad that we did and he did very staying at home as well.

We missed Kaitlyn and Jackson terribly. It was such a fun reunion because they both laughed and giggled when we came home. Jackson did fine with the bottle and is back to nursing again too. Kaitlyn has been napping, yeah! He is reaching for everything and grasping everything. He gurgles and coos a lot. Kaitlyn still loves to give him lovies and likes to talk a lot.

Hanging Up My Freelancing Shoes

As of today, I have officially stopped freelancing, no more PR work for me right now. I had to tell my last client today that I am swamped with kids having colds and taking care of them that I don't have time to work on a project basis. It sounded simple; Work when they sleep or at night, but that left me nothing else, inlcuding Brandon or housework or other projects. By the way, I am totally behind on many projects like photos and albums.

I am a little sad because I enjoyed freelancing and the people I worked with on a weekly basis. It kept some regularity in my life even when Kaitlyn was growing or going through a new phase, etc. Now hopefully, I will be able to give my full attention to kids and house and get more projects done around here. I have put these off many times since I would work instead in the little free time I had. Shoot, maybe I can get out to a lunch or dinner with friend. I am really looking forward to that once we getting better settled with Jackson and no more colds!

Only two more days before Cabo San Lucas. Brandon and I are excited to make a quick getaway over the weekend. Boy, do we need it. My parents are coming to watch the kids and I hope they do well for them. It will be tough, but hopefully, worth the trip to enjoy. It is free and on Brandon's company! I just pray Jackson feels a little better before we go. It was a tough decision to leave him at home, but I would rather leave him home than risk another cold.

It could be worse...

It has been crazy around here trying to get a leg up on all of the season's activities including weddings, Christmas shopping, Thanksgiving, trip to Mexico, family in town, etc.

Brandon's cousin's wedding was beautiful and Kaitlyn walked down the aisle like an angel. She listened and I think it was the big excitement for her all weekend, except the dancing. Thanksgiving was great despite the cold, wet weather and we even put up our Christmas tree with a few decorations. Kaitlyn loves to be sneaky and pull things off the tree. Christmas shopping, almost done. Yeah! Ready for Cabo San Lucas? Not really, but it will have to work. We are leaving for Mexico next week. This is the trip Brandon was awarded since he was a top seller this fall. I can't believe we are going. It will be tough with Jackson, but I think we definitely need to have some relaxation and recharge our batteries!

I say it could be worse because we are all sick again, but things could be worse if we didn't just have a little cold. Poor little Jackson can't breathe. I hope we can make it through this cold season with only a few little bouts here and there, but it is inevitable, especially with a toddler running around. She loves to kiss Jackson on his head and does great changing his diaper. She is actually a regular cleaning lady too. She loves to clean windows.

The best thing to do in our household right now is to watch Kaitlyn dance. She just wouldn't stop dancing at the wedding and now at home, it is an epidemic. Dancing with the Stars has been great to watch, especially with Kaitlyn. She waits for the dance to start and then she gets up and boogies. Her version of getting down to the music is to run from one side of the room to the other. She then holds her arms up to her side and bends over to shake her toosh. It is pretty cute. But it is never good to dance alone and makes Brandon and I dance too.

Jackson makes us smile all day. He laughs and smiles and coos so much. It is amazing that he does all of the time. He is as happy as a clam if you just look at him and for as big as he is, he knows just how to melt in your arms. He is now 17 and a half pounds. His stomach looks like a big ham or hammie!

Sporadic posts

Well, the holidays are upon us. It is going to be pretty sporadic posting on here for the next couple of months. The holidays bring all sorts of craziness and with trying to get into a better routine with Kaitlyn and Jackson, extra time will be nonexistent.

We are working to get Jackson to like his crib better and fall asleep easier. He has a lot of gas and I still here congestion in him. Poor guy, we drag him everywhere and has gotten used to sleeping in his carseat alot. But seeing how he is growing so much, I have no idea what to do when he gains another five pounds and he is out of the carrier. Right now, it is pretty easy to take him with us. I am on the hunt for a double stroller to buckle both kiddos in.

Kaitlyn is so sweet on Jackson and helped me give him a bath today. I am still nervous with her around him sometimes as she presses on him and doesn't know that it hurts. She is maturing a lot and wants to do everything herself, although she still needs me to teach her the proper way of doing things. She is in love with Curious George right now. They are very similar. He is curious of everything as is she.

Lucky

Well, we have made it past the two month mark with Jackson and the holidays are right around the corner. God has been looking out for us these last few months, that is for sure. Brandon signed a huge client with ADP, the biggest deal in his region so far. It was exciting for him and his office. He got a trip to Los Cabos the first of December so we are trying to figure out if we are going to take Jackson or not. Kaitlyn has taken a nap everyday this week. I think she is finally calming down after Jackson's birth and the excitement of grandmoms helping out. Jackson is sleeping a little bit better, but he is still waking every four hours at night to eat. I think I have a little more sanity with getting a little more sleep because he is taking a bottle now.

Jackson went to his two month check up yesterday and he is in the above 97 percetile for weight and height. He now weighs 15 pounds 10 ounces. Yes!!! At 20 pounds, we have to move him out of his carrier carseat! The doctor also said that he is smiling and cooing like he is a four-month old. He loves to talk and smile. Kaitlyn started a bit later, but I don't remember her talking as much as him.

Today, I got really lucky with this picture. Two kiddos smiling!!!

Fun, but worn out

I am beginning to find out that in the world of kids, any kind of holiday is a hectic time. Not that we scrambled to find all of the Halloween and fall festival activities we could, but that there is so much to choose from in our area. We went to a pumpkin patch and farm, a fall festival for Kaitlyn's school and another fall festival at her friend, Kali's school. The things they do for little kids. It is amazing.

Kaitlyn is getting to be a lot of fun to take to these things too because she is having so much fun with all of these new activities and can voice how much fun she is having. Of course, Jackson had a ball - sleeping, that is.


We have caught our second cold of the season. Man, we need some super spray to keep this stuff from spreading. We are constantly washing hands and putting on hand sanitizer, but when Kaitlyn coughs, we just can't contain it.

Here is some video of Kaitlyn jumping in a bounce house at the fall festival last night. She loved it.





Here is some video of Jackson playing in his crib. He is becoming more and more animated.