Now you know

~ I have recently become addicted to Melissa and Doug toys. They sell all kinds of toys for kids, but I've been hooked on their wooden toys. They are great (and maybe slightly more durable?)! Eli has a couple of Melissa and Doug puzzles already and I just got him a wooden pizza set. He really seems to like them too. He can actually cut the pizza apart (everything has velcro) and it has toppings that he gets to put on top. He was getting pretty ticked earlier, though, when he couldn't get the pizza to stay on his spatula. He even threw a mini fit because it wasn't working out for him. His screaming is pretty stinking annoying, but I do find it somewhat amusing when he throws a fit because his toys aren't cooperating the way he thinks they should. Anyways, these toys are great. You should all check them out:).

~ I've started running again. This is quite an accomplishment since I am running with the double jogging stroller. I could never even get my lazy butt to run with just the single jogger when we just had Eli, so I'm pretty proud of myself for doing it with the double. I actually do love running, it's just getting myself out the door to do it that is always the problem. Once I'm running, I usually like it. Unless it's crazy windy. I've gone running a few times in the wind and it pretty much sucks. I would probably have a hard enough time just dragging my own butt along, let alone the extra 50 pounds I'm pushing. So, needless to say, I haven't been running in the last couple of days. I don't usually run very far, but I figure I gotta be burning more calories since I'm pushing the kids, so the distance doesn't matter, right? Kamdyn doesn't usually let me run more than my standard mile. If I try to go much further than that, she starts screaming her head off. Then I get to focused on how much further we have to go and get exhausted. I guess she just doesn't like mommy getting back in shape:). Or maybe she just gets bored. Probably a little more likely.

~ It's official, I've become a picker. I remember hating (when I got older) my mom picking at me. Well, now I do it to our kids. All the time. There is always something to pick at on my kiddos; noses, ears, fuzz between the fingers....you name it. Ah..... it's a good life, the life of a mommy:)

~ On the subject of kids, ours bring me so much joy. They are so funny and definitely keep me entertained. Since having kids (or more specifically, adding Kamdyn) I've noticed things I say that just kind of make me laugh later. Things I didn't really ever consider having to say in my life. For ex:

"Eli, stop playing in the potty. Toilet water is not a playtoy!"

"Eli, your sister does not need her teeth brushed! She doesn't have any teeth. Quit shoving the toothbrush in her mouth"

"Eli, get your finger out of your nose!" (I swear, he has his finger up his nose half the day these days. He's searching for buried treasure. And I'm pretty sure he ate his first booger today. GROSS!)

"Eli, you can't stand on Kamdyn's head"

"Eli, don't vaccum over your sister"

Are you noticing a common theme in my days. Eli loves to be "EXTRA" helpful:)

~ Newton is not very far from us, but it sure seems like it when you have to sing nursery rhymes the whole way home. We went to Newton today to pick up the rest of our cloth diapers. Kamdyn wasn't too thrilled about being in her car seat on the way home so I started singing to her. I sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider first, which is Eli's favorite, so I had to repeat it about 5 times. Then Eli decided that my songs were better than the radio, so he wanted me to keep singing him songs. I have a limit to how many times I will sing Itsy Bitsy Spider, so I ran through my nursery rhyme list. My list isn't too long. I was racking my brain trying to think of some ones I had forgotten. Like I said, Newton isn't too far away.... unless you have to sing the whole way home. Note to self: brush up on nursery rhymes!

Happy Birthday Granny

Happy Happy Birthday to a wonderful mother, mother-in-law, and granny.

Thanks so much for all you do for us and the kids. We couldn't be more blessed!

Thank you for loving our kids unconditionally

Thank you for spoiling them often (even though they don't need it:))

Thank you for giving me a much needed break from the kids for "granny days"

Thank you for being my ice cream buddy!

Thank you for raising an amazing son

Thank you for instilling great values in Brian so that he can instill them in our children

Thank you for calling the weather over and over just because Eli likes to listen to the voice on the phone:)

Thank you for teaching me how to quilt (quite an accomplishment, I used to HATE sewing!!!)

And thank you for so much more!! (the list is far to long to put on here:)). The kids adore you and it's so fun to watch them with you. I hope you are having an awesome birthday.

Happy Birthday!

Love,

Brian, Krista, Eli, and Kamdyn

Arts and Crafts

Two of my favorite little Huttons:

We are so blessed to have our nephews and niece so close together in age. It has been so much fun watching the kids grow up together. Our kids are so lucky to have so many cousins so close to the same age as them. I foresee a lot of cousin slumber parties in our future:). But, I think it will be especially fun to watch Kamdyn and Shepherd grow up together. While all of the kids are close in age, these two are only separated by 2 months.

I've been trying to do some fun stuff with Eli when Kamdyn is napping in the morning on days we are home. This kid seems to love arts and crafts, so I've been trying to find some new fun things for him to do. The most recent project around the Hutton household was a egg carton caterpillar (don't judge the end result when you see the picture:), looks a little goofy). I pulled out some paints and a brush, googly eyes, and some pipe cleaners and we were ready to go. Eli was far more interested in dipping the paint brush in the paint He would make one swipe and feel it was necessary to get some more paint. Since I wasn't filling the brush with enough paint to keep him satisfied, he decided to divert his attention to the pipe cleaners.
Eli's finished caterpillar!

Keeping me on my toes!

Because I promised here are a couple of pictures of the kids. Eli was all ready for daddy's first home soccer game. I planned on taking a few pictures while we were there, but 2 kids (one unhappy toddler because I kept him strapped into a stroller) and dinner prevented me from that:)
Kamdyn doing a little tummy time. Look how good she holds that head up!

I've always know that Eli was an onery kid. He is such a busy body and just LOVES to get into everything. That's why I love hanging out at home so much, I don't have to worry about him getting into things he shouldn't near as much. He's pretty much got free reign in this house as far as boundries are concerned. But, nothing has prepared me for his recent behaviors! He has gotten to be such a toddler and (sigh) such a two year old! He's not even two yet, but I can assure you that I'm already getting a taste of what he might be like. He has recently truly discovered his voice. He used to get upset when he didn't get his way, but now he flat out screams. And this isn't a nice little 30 second fit of screams, he does it for 5-10 minutes. He just cries and screams and sometimes even throws himself on the floor. I don't care if he feels like throwing a fit, but I could definitely do without the high pitched scream. Eli, find a new way to express yourself, PLEASE!!!!

I sometimes truly do think that he thinks up of ways to drive his mommy crazy throughout the day. He sure is successful. He loves to get into anything and everything, especially the things he knows he's not supposed to. Darn forbidden fruit, has to be so tempting, even to a 1 1/2 year old. He just can't stay away! If I turn my back for one minute (probably more like 30 seconds) he is off and running into something else.

Friday was an exceptionally good day for Eli ( in the getting into all kinds of messes way). It started bright and early too. I was fixing eggs for Eli. We had the screen door open because it was pretty nice outside and I just like the cool air in the house. I locked it like always (if I don't Eli likes to take himself outside). He was standing at the screen door watching Jake, who was outside. So I went about my business fixing eggs. I finished them up and took them to the table and turned to get Eli into his chair. Imagine my surprise, and heart attack, when I saw him standing on the deck (the door was still closed) just chatting away. Yup, that's my kiddo. He can find the only way possible to get himself outside. The screen was broken; Jake jumped on it the other day and it tore it. Well, Eli discovered that he could fit his whole arm through the door where the screen was torn way. So that became a new hobby of his. But, on this particular morning, he decided that he would just take himself out of the house by doing this. Crazy! Needless to say, Brian fixed the screen the next morning.

Wait, it gets better. My day has only begun.......

I was going scrapbooking Friday night. Brian had a game so my mom was coming over to watch the kids for me until he got home. While I was waiting, I decided that I would go ahead and get the car loaded up with my stuff so I was ready to go when she got there. Kamdyn was in her crib, and Eli was just playing around the house. I took my scrapbooking stuff out and was just picking up some trash to take to the garage. I shut the door behind me (if I don't Eli tries to come outside to help). Turned right back around and discovered that I couldn't open the door. Eli had somehow managed to lock me out. Pretty much started freaking out. He was whinning on the other side of the door and I didn't have my cell phone (or a spare key). Thankfully our neighbors were home so I could use their phone. Since I didn't have my phone, I had no idea of anyones numbers, except for Brian's and he was a game. I figured he wouldn't answer since he wouldn't recognize the number and he was coaching. I think I had to call about 10 times and he finally picked up so I could get his parents' number. Thankfully Mary was home so she rescued me and came over with our spare key.

Still more....

I figured Eli was probably freaking out by now. I had been locked out for about 10 minutes and he hates if I sneak into the garage for 30 seconds. So I rush into the house to console my little boy. Wait.......it was pretty quite. He definitely wasn't waiting at the door distraught because I wasn't there. I was met with silence. Scary. Headed back towards the kids' rooms and could hear Kamdyn crying through her shut door. That's right, Eli decided since I wasn't inside maybe he would just shut them both in her room to keep me out:). Opened the door to find Eli sitting behind it with Kamdyn's night light out of the socket, lightbulb unscrewed, and lightbulb in his mouth. Really? Definitely didn't miss me.

Note to self....don't EVER EVER EVER leave toddler inside house unsupervised, without cell phone in hand, and a spare key handy! This kid is getting good at the locks:)

Rag Quilt

I ran across a pattern for a quilt a while ago that I thought looked really fun and cute. It's a rag quilt. So, I looked up the pattern online. The best part about this quilt is that it is SO easy to make. It didn't take me any time at all to put it together. I had originally planned on making this quilt for Eli. I already made a quilt for Kamdyn before she was born, so I have been wanting to make a quilt for Eli. Well, my intentions were to make him a quilt, but once i got the the fabric section, I saw all of this adorable fabric that was definitely more girly. So.....I decided to give the quilt a shot first for Kamdyn. Then if it turned out cute, I would make one for Eli. Lucky for me Eli doesn't really care, otherwise I would probably feel really bad about this. I truly had good intentions, but they just don't make as many cute fabric options that are "boyish". So, the girl wins out again. But...... I have looked at some different stores since then and found some pretty good "boy" fabrics, so Eli's quilt won't be too far behind. Anyways, here are some shots of Kamdyn's rag quilt. Love the way it turned out.
The only thing I really hated about making this quilt was cutting up around all the edges so that it would "rag". It's not hard to do, just tedious and my poor hand got tired. But it was all worth it in the end. But I don't think I will ever use this pattern to make a very big quilt:)

Revelation

Something we've been talking about in bible study has really been speaking to me recently. A couple of weeks ago, our lecture was all about "receiving" our spouse (or children); truly accepting them for who they are. This is much easier said than done. It's in our nature to always try to change qualities that we don't like or don't agree with (at least it's in mine). The whole point is that we need to embrace our spouses for who they are and see them as what they really are, are perfect gift to you from God. Now I think some of this sounds kind of corny, but I understand the whole concept behind it and I've really been trying to not focus on the things that Brian does that may drive me crazy. I knew going into our marriage that he was a clutter bug, but I married him regardless because I love him, so I need to stop trying to make him a more organized person (because this will never happen:)).

This goes much further than just your spouse. It is also very true of our kids. And here we reach the true point of this post. Eli. Boy I love that kid to pieces, but he's been driving me crazy. It seems like he gets up every morning with the intent to do as much as he possibly can to drive his mommy crazy. I know this isn't the case, but it sure seems like it. He's not even two yet, but I have a feeling I'm getting a glimpse of his "terrible twos". I've yet to find an effective form of discipline for him and we just have such a back and forth power struggle. Why or why were Brian and I blessed with such a stubborn kid!(probably just a little taste of our own medicine, we are both very pig headed). When Eli was born I "received" him as a gift, but on days that he is testing me, I want to trade him in for a newer, well behaved model (or at least send him to grandmas for the afternoon). So I haven't truly "received" him as a perfect gift from God. Maybe the problem isn't with Eli, maybe it's with me. Instead of trying to change everything he does, I need to work on changing myself. I need to spend more time with him and truly enjoy him. I'm with him every day, but I don't feel like I am truly "WITH HIM" like I could be. It's amazing how much better behaved he is when I just give him some of the attention he craves. Don't get me wrong, he is very loved and gets plenty of attention, but I don't give him one on one play time like I could. So, I'm going to really work on receiving our son just the way he is (no matter how hard it might be some days!)

On a different note, Eli is beginning to be quite the talker. He now has about 4 words that he can say. He says papa, baby, sissy, and yes. Granted he won't ever do them for anyone besides Brian and I, but still, they are words. Eli definitely isn't an entertainer (especially not compared to his cousin James). I plan on trying to be sneaky one of these days with the video camera and recording him saying them. Otherwise, it could be another 6 months before you all hear him say any actual words!

I don't have any new pictures to post. We haven't really been doing anything too exciting. So for now, you will all have to be satisfied with my rambling. I promise to post some more pictures next time.

Easter

Easter was fun this year. Easter is always good,but it was fun to watch Eli toddle around this year. Of course, if you asked Brian he might now feel the same way since he's the one chasing Eli around his parents' house:) Thanks babe! Anyways, it was fun to have Eli be able to participate in the easter egg hunt. He cared more about opening the eggs than he did picking too many, but it was still fun. He also enjoyed just being able to run around the yard. He doesn't get to do that too often at home since Kamdyn is not a fan of the wind. I think his favorite part of the whole day, though, was being able to feed Kevin, Mark and Mary's adopted pet peacock, crackers. he loves that bird and talks non-stop about him when he sees him every week (I'm so thankful he doesn't hang around our house:)). Next year will be even crazier with Kamdyn running around with Eli

Beauty

For those of you who wonder how in the world I could be a morning person........
Now you know! I love watching the sun rise. It's God's beauty and majesty waiting to greet me every morning and I don't want to miss any of it.

Plus, I love listening to Eli's little converstations he has in he morning before I get him out of bed. He's quite the little chatterbox!:)

Good times have been had!

We have been busy enjoying this gorgeous weather around here! I'm loving it, and so is Eli. We've been to the zoo a couple of times, several walks, and today we went for a picnic in the park. All this sunshine makes me very excited for the summer and pool days. Here are some pictures from the last week. Enjoy!

Mr. Trendsetter! Eli got some new tennis shoes a couple of weeks ago and he has been loving wearing them around. The other day I didn't put his pants back on after his nap, but he still wanted to wear his shoes. So this is what resulted; one cool kid!
Look at this beautiful little smile. Kamdyn is such a little social butterfly. She loves to smile at us. It's very cute. Eli used to smile for me a lot, but he was very particular about who else he smiled for. Kamdyn is happy to give anyone who is giving her some attention a little grin. Pretty cute. She has also started laughing when I tickle her. She's got some ticklish little thighs and rights under her chin. I discovered this while Eli and I were playing the motor boat song with her.I made my first batch of homemade play dough this week. I have been wanting to make some for a while, but have just been too lazy to do it. So I finally got it done this week. It was really easy to make, and we can keep it in the fridge for up to 2 months. I wasn't sure what Eli would think of it since he's never played with play dough before. We only had one incident where he tried to eat it, after that he had fun playing with it. It only held his attention for about 15 minutes but I think he will enjoy it more as he gets older.

This picture is of Eli trying to eat his play dough. It's blury because I was rushing to get it out of his mouth. It probably wouldn't have hurt him if he had actually eaten it, but it certainly wouldn't taste good at all. It's made with 1 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup salt, vegetable oil, and water. So probably not too tasty.

Today we went to the park for a picnic and to play a little bit with my friend Nicole and the little girl she's been babysitting, Dakota. It was insanely windy, but still gorgeous outside so it was worth it. Eli had a blast running all over the place and I got my exercise chasing after him. Kamdyn was chilling out in the stroller taking a little snooze and staying out of the crazy wind.
Nicole brought a kite to fly so Eli got his first experience kite flying. He didn't do too bad but he was cracking us up because he would hold onto the string but the second the wind picked up he'd let it fly off by itself. I personally think he just enjoyed watching Nicole chase after it in the wind:)

Some other random things. Eli has finally learned he can climb onto the couch by himself. He loves to climb up and then jump around. His favorite couch to get onto though is Jake's couch. It cracks me up. Jake will be sitting up there minding his own business and Eli climbs on up. The best part is that Jake just looks at me with this look of total annoyance. I can just see him telling me that he has no sacred place anymore. He used to climb on the couch to get away from Eli's pestering, now he can't even get away from him there:). He has also discovered he can lock the back door. Whenever we unlock it to let Jake out he locks it afterwards for us. I discovered he could do this because he almost locked me out one day. Thankfully, I managed to get ahold of him before he locked me out. That would have been an issue! He has locked Brian out a few times though. It's halarious; he just stands there at the door and looks at him. Needless to say, he hasn't figured out how to unlock it yet:). Luckily for Brian, I've been home to let him in (not before I stare at him from inside like Eli too:))