Trip to North Dakota

We took the kids on a 3 day weekend trip to North Dakota at the end of August. One of Tam's second cousins was getting married and so we decided to go to the wedding and stay an extra day to see all of Tam's mom's side of the family. We had THREE flights each way...yes, with the kids, and no we are not crazy. we had no choice. Kai did fine, I knew he would. Jaymes did OK, but not great, and really it could have been alot worse considering almost all the flight we were on were empty and she was able to crawl over chairs and such...had she been forced to sit in my lap the whole time, it would not have been pretty. With pacifiers, candy, food, books, DVDs, etc...we made it thru it. Probably not going to attempt that again until she's at least 3.

At the wedding, Jaymes and Kai were dancing machines. Jaymes was running around like a mad woman the whole time. She wore out the toes of her tights!! That's some hard partying. Kai and his cousins Jude and Joss liked the lights and trinkets the DJ had for the kids at the reception.

The last day of the trip we drove to Tam's aunt and uncle's farm outside of Fargo. Its a pretty large commercial operation, they grow black beans, corn, wheat and soy. Kai and the boys got to ride and drive HUGE tractors and run through the corn fields and pick corn....they loved all of it! We also visited Tam's grandfather's grave, Tam never knew him, he died before he was born.

Kai ate nothing but junk and ran wild all weekend, as a result, he was a little bit of an emotional wreck. Every time we had to separate from his cousins Jude and Joss, he would just about lose it and break down in tears...really anytime we told him "no" all weekend, he would about cry. I dont know what exactly he thought "vacation" was?! It was pretty funny actually, but by the end of the weekend Tam and I knew it was going to be a rough few "post vacation" days.

Lake House with Cousins, July 2010

We went down to cousin Kenrie's grandparents lake house at Possum Kingdom in July...kids had a blast! Kai, Jude, Joss and Kenrie swam, jumped off the dock and road in the boat.....Jaymes, well she did some of the above, did NOT love the boat however..she cried the whole time we were on the water. We let the kids watch a movie together in the bunk bed room while the adults were eating/cooking..I went in to check in on them and found Jaymes being carefully guarded by Jude.....so sweet!

Bubba's 4th birthday

What's amazing, is I have always hated the nickname "bubba"...and now, tam and I cant stop calling Kai that, we started when he was like a year old, and are still calling him that. I don't like it, but for some reason it stuck...much like "JJ"for Jaymes, I hate it, but I call her that?!

Kai's 4th bday party was at Main Event this year...he had showing interest in bowling lately and so we thought he would like a bowling party. And he did very much! It was also over 100 degrees the weekend of his birthday, so I am glad we opted for an indoor party. I hate that he has to compete with horrible heat every year on his bday, and it seems like the only thing we can do outdoors is be in the water?!

Kai's 4th year, I think, has been the best! We seem to have gotten beyond the tantrums and fits, and Kai is so fun and sweet to be around! He is very affectionate, smart and VERY curious. He shocks me everyday with the things he is capable of understanding and he seems to grow more and more inquisitive about stuff daily. He LOVES LOVES all things dinosaur, its a little bit of an obsession which Tam and I find kinda funny. Kai also loves movies, CANDY, McDonalds, donuts, ....to name a few. He is a HORRIBLE picky eater, and he and his dad and I struggle with this on a daily basis. I do know it could be worse (hardly) but we try to focus on the few healthy things he will eat. He is not open to trying anything new, and often complains about the way certain foods smell (good foods, like pizza, hamburgers)??. He is very much into his friends and his cousins and talks about them frequently. He has always been and continues to very much be ALL BOY. He could not possibly be a more active child, he wears us out..and we love every second. Kai is really good with his little sister, the other day when he woke up he told me "mom, Jaymes is my best friend"..broke my heart.

Kai, one day when (if?) you ever read this, you'll probably know how much your dad and I love you, we've never been shy about telling you. But, for the record, you are the sun in our sky.

Love you

mom and dad

Bode the Dinosaur

We got Kai a 4ft tall inflatable Trex for his bday..we made the mistake of putting it in his bedroom overnight so that he would see it the morning of his bday (Sat, 6/26 we told him was his bday since we were having his party that day). Well of course he wakes up in the middle of the night and sees that massive dinosaur at the foot of his bed and screamed at the tops of his lungs! We was terrified of it and made us take it out of his room before he would go back to sleep. However, the next morning (and ever since) he has been obsessed with this dinosaur which he named Bode, by the way. He wrestles with it non stop, its only a matter of time before he pops it..but for now he loves his bode. These pics show basically what took place in our house all day Saturday...kai wrestles the dino while everyone else watches on (and gets the occasional knock in the head with it as well)

Save this for when he's in the majors

Pretty goofy, but cute! He seemed to enjoy tball for the most part, some days he was less than thrilled about games and or practice, but its hotter than crap here in the summer, so I cant say I blame him. All in all, a good season.

17 month old DIVA!

Jaymes at 17 months is a combo of personalities it seems....she is a diva for sure, very sure of what she wants, when and how she wants it! She also can be very sweet and loving to mom and dad, she often gives hugs and kisses and will lay her head on you when you hold her. Jaymes had been doing MUCH better about the separation anxiety, until the last 2 weeks!! She seems to have regressed a little. She was doing GREAT in church and would even cry for her Sunday school teachers when we left church! Well, this last Sunday she cried pretty bad when I dropped her off in her class, so I guess she's a little anxious about that right. She is back to crying when I leave the house, or when we are running errands and Tam is driving the car, she will cry when I get out of the car!? She cries for me around family and friends again, so I don't really know whats going on with that, a phase I am sure.

Jaymes is very very mobile, was an early walker for sure (10 months) BUT she is not very verbal. She only says about 3 words (momma, da da and uh oh). I think she spends most her energy keeping up with her brother and all that he does/is into. She lets me know what she wants by pointing and such, but she just is not much of a talker? The exact opposite of Kai, he was putting 2 word phrases together at this age? Tam's mom says Tam was the exact same way when he was little, so maybe that's it?

Jaymes is sleeping great, still taking 2 naps (most days) and still INTO her Paci. I would like to cut out the Paci soon, but she def needs it to sleep. We try to only give it t her at nap and bedtime, but if she sees it out, forget it! She will cry and scream for it.

Jaymes is just a bundle of sweet and sassy, and her dad, brother and I love her to pieces!

Love

Momma

First T-ball practice

Kai has been VERY excited about Tball season....although prior to his first practice, he had no idea what that meant?! Well we had our first practice Tuesday, May 4th and he did GREAT! He paid attention, did what his coaches and his dad told him, and think he really had fun.....as soon as we left he was asking if he could play again. I think he will do really well this season! He seems to be one of the younger ones on his team, based on his birthday, but his coach made a comment about him being so tall, which for now, he definitly is. I was worried about him getting scared or timid about the whole thing, but he was smiling ear to ear the whole time. He will be playing on the Orioles, which of course we had to tell him was not the Oreos.

Here's some shots of kai in action.....first game was supposed to be May 15th, was rained out, so next Sat the 22nd will be his first game...hopefully.