Big Truck Night

Last night we took the kids up to Big Truck Night at Maize South. This is the first year we've taken Eli. He is so crazy about big trucks and buses I thought it would be fun to take him this year. He had a good time....he didn't really like waiting in the lines to get in the trucks, but he enjoyed "driving" them and walking around.

He's kind of looking a little mischeivous in the Maize police car.
Driving the fire truck....he was in no hurry to get out of this one.
First bus ride!!! He loves to point out buses wherever we go, and we usually see them on our walks in the morning, so he was excited to go on a ride. Brian stayed behind with Kamdyn. He claims he's on buses enough (for soccer games) so he didn't need to go on another ride. Eli was super concerned about leaving his daddy behind. He was excited to get on the bus, but after he looked out the window for a minute kept telling me he was all done. Then when the bus left to go around the parking lot, he just kept saying "dada". But he ended up enjoying himself.

Checking out the tractor. He was being told to smile...this is what I got:)
Heading home! Beautiful night for big truck night
Kamdyn enjoying herself in the stroller.
I used to hate when I would get stopped by a train, now I love when it happens. Only because I love the reaction I get from Eli every time. He loves trains....so cute. Crazy how your perspective changes after you have kids:)
This is the face you see when you look back and see Eli watching the train drive by. He gets so excited. This was the icing on the cake....big trucks and a train...all before bedtime, life doesn't get much better:)

This and that......plus some little baby legs

Eli is such a little goofball. He's been cracking me up lately..........

*The other day at the store I caught him trying to sneak a snickers bar on the conveyer belt. He was busted and it had to go back, but he was so very close. Definitely has his daddy's taste in candy bars:)

*Eli loves to try to make Kamdyn laugh when we are in the car. This process in itself it pretty funny, especially when they both get to laughing. The other day I got a call when we were in the car. It was a pre-recorded mass message, but I didn't know that at the time, so I answered. I said, "hello" and a few seconds later I hear Eli saying, "hello," and cracking up. He thought this was so funny so he proceeded to say "hello" over and over again at Kamdyn so that she was cracking up too.

Here's a cute picture I've been meaning to put up here for several weeks, just keep forgetting. Kamdyn and papa spending time by the pool together.
I have recently made some fun new things for Kamdyn. I made her some hair bows which I love, but my favorite thing right now are some leg warmers. These are actually called "baby legs" (supposed to protect little legs from rough carpet when they are crawling), but they are essentially leg warmers. At least that's what I'm using them for:) They are pretty darn cute on her. I've made her 3 pairs so far and am having to practice restraint when it comes to buying more socks to make these. I'm pretty sure I want some in every color I can find. Can't wait for more fall-like weather so we can bust these out everyday!

Some birthday goodies

Well, I finally got my pictures uploaded to the computer from my camera. So now you can all check out the fun that was had at Eli's birthday party. We lucked out and it didn't rain until later in the evening, so Eli was able to go swimming (last year it rained at the beginning of the night so we couldn't get in the pool). Kamdyn and I weren't ever able to get in the pool (not shedding too many tears on that one), but hey, someone has to be the paparazzi at these shindigs. Brian does a great job at taking pictures, but I take about a gazillion more and he'd rather play in the pool, so we both win:) Eli had a blast, and that's all that matters because it was his day. He even "jumped" off the diving board too...well, Brian walked to the edge with him and dropped him in, but still, he went in and under by himself. I was very impressed, he didn't even get scared. In fact, he was pretty proud of himself. What a little daredevil. Again, he DOESN'T get this from his mamma. Kamdyn enjoyed the night getting to spend the evening in someone's arms. She loves when we have big family get togethers because she gets lots of attention:) Eli enjoyed all of his presents too. I think he would have enjoyed opening them too if he hadn't gotten so distracted and excited about the train stuff that kept coming out of the bags. Everytime I pulled a new train item out, he just turned to me and said "open". Since I wouldn't open anything right away, he was quickly off to find another person who would do his dirty work. He ended up getting a TON of supplies to donate to the church for kids who need them. Thanks for all of the donations. We filled up a big sack full of supplies and took them to church on Sunday. Still can't really believe my baby boy is 2....he acts like a two year old most days, but it's just hard to believe that it's already been two years!

Special thanks to granny and papa for letting us use their house and for papa's very very delicious hamburgers. They were SO much better than the frozen patties we planned on getting:) Thanks for the yummy watermelon too mom! Eli (and Brian, Kamdyn, and I) is so blessed to have such amazing friends and family to go through life's journeys with:)

p.s. Also forgot to give a big thanks to my amazing sis-in-law amanda who helped (who am I kidding, she did it all) decorate Eli's train that went on top of the round cakes. I take credit for the bottom half, but she did all the beautiful work of the train:)

p.p.s. Funny story.....Eli's train cake was laying on it's side (this was my fault....didn't get the cake pan full enough so one side wasn't filled out all the way. Looked fine, but didn't stand very sturdy) and everytime he saw it he would say, "uh, oh.....train" Thanks for drawing attention to mommy's mistakes sweetheart:)

Ninja Skills.....of a praying mantis???

I am married to such a goofball. Brian is never afraid to just be himself and have a little fun.....just one of the many many reason I love him. I can't imagine spending my life with a man who didn't have such a love for life. He aims to make us smile and laugh everyday and does a fantastic job:) I'm not really sure where in the world Brian's praying mantis ninja skills came from, but it was pretty entertaining. Love you babe!



p.s. I taught him all he knows about crazy ninja skills:)

Today

Two years ago today Brian was getting ready to start his first day of school on his first day at Maize. I, being 9 months pregnant, was pretty convinced I was going to be pregnant forever and was getting ready to face yet another day of the belly. I woke up at 3:30 that morning with some cramps. Didn't think much of it, but kind of wondered if it was a contraction (as a first time pregnant woman with Eli, I always laughed when people asked if I had had any contractions......who the heck knows!!! I had never had a contraction before so I had NO idea what the heck they felt like). But since I was convinced Eli was never coming, I didn't think that could possibly be it. I decided to time them. From the start they were about 7 minutes apart. After about 2 hours, I decided that it must be the real thing and decided to wake Brian up at 5:30.

It was a joke in our house that Eli would be born on the first day of school. Especially since Brian was a new teacher in a new district. I know Brian was keeping his fingers crossed that he was born before he started, but things rarely work out the way we want them too:). I woke Brian up by saying..."babe, I don't think you're going to be making it into work today. I think we're going to have Elijah today." Brian then asked me some questions about my contractions and said..."I'd like to say I'm sorry babe, but I'm not...this is AWESOME!":) Gotta love his excitement. So off to Wesley we went. The rest of the day passed by in a blur, but 12 hours after contractions started, a very successful epidural (legs were totally numb until the next morning) ,and a forceps delivery later, Elijah James entered this world kicking and screaming. He's still going strong today:).

Now instead of the kicking and screaming newborn, he's a wild and crazy toddler who still thinks he's little enough to fit into his sister's baby toys.
Happy 2nd Birthday Elijah! We love you so much. God was smiling down on us the day he blessed us with the most perfect little boy we have in you. We are so blessed and so thankful to have you in our lives. My how different life would be without you around! You bring joy to us each and every day and we look forward to seeing the man God turns you into as you grow. You make our lives such an interesting journey and we are looking forward to many many many more years exploring life with you.

Love,

Mommy and daddy

The proper way to eat

If you're looking for tips and pointers on proper table etiquette, don't look to this little missy.....

Kamdyn is such a mess when she eats. It's pretty hilarious to feed her actually. Believe it or not, (very hard to tell from these pictures) she is actually getting SO much better at eating. She doesn't usually get herself this messy unless she decides to rub her eyes. Once that happens, all hope is lost. She also likes to "help" the food go down by sucking on her fingers between bites. Somedays I feel like I should just take her out back and hose her off after lunch or dinner. Enjoy the mess making while you can baby girl, some day it won't be considered socially acceptable to look like this at the table.

On a different note......look who is officially a sitter! She's actually been sitting well for a couple of weeks, but I'm just behind on getting some pictures on here. She looks so grown up sitting up and playing now! She seems to enjoy the sitting life pretty well. She will happily sit and play with her toys for quite a while; it is definitely easier to entertain her this way.

Wiggle Worm

I'm in uncharted waters here. Kamdyn is such a wiggle worm. Eli didn't really roll all over the place or wiggle until he was probably 10 or 11 months old. Kamdyn rarely sits still. I am constantly finding her in her crib with her arms sticking out of the side rails, or like this night, her feet hanging out. She doesn't get too upset at first, but if you don't get her into a more "comfortable" position quick enough, she lets you know:)