"Ou-side...peease"

The past few days we've had gorgeous weather around these parts. Clear blue skies, sunshine a shinin', fall leaves falling, and the like! The previous weeks of rainy days were definitely beginning to get to us all!

Well...now that we've got our wonderful, and oh so useful fence, I've been giving the little man a bit of freedom and independence (so he thinks) when it comes to the great outdoors. We strap on some shoes, throw on a sweatshirt, and out he goes. One nice thing about our house, though there are many, is that every part of the backyard can be seen from at least one of the windows inside. This allows Kallen to be the curious and inquisitive little boy he is, and me to have peace of mind that he's safe. He may eat mud, squish bugs and throw rocks, but at least he's not running out into traffic or wandering down the street to the neighbors!!!

I was able to be a little stealth by peering around corners, and leaning off the edge of the deck to catch the little man in action...notice the dog wont leave his side...

Then he caught me

Not Enough Hangers

I came home this afternoon from a wonderful play date with the neighbors and found 2 big Rubbermaid containers on the porch. What was in those containers you ask...GIRLS CLOTHES!!!


My friend Laura, mother to 3 adorable little girls, and 1 handsome little boy is no longer in need of pink. You see...after 3 girls, they welcomed a little boy into the family this September, and as her girls grow out of their clothes, I've been blessed enough to receive them! When Kynlee was born, Laura brought over the first Rubbermaid full of clothes, and now 2 more!



We are blessed beyond words, and can't express enough how much we appreciate your generosity. Thank you Laura!

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Here are some pictures from Sunday's trip to the pumpkin patch!

Happy Birthday Josiah

Today is my nephew Josiah's 1st birthday, and while we would like to be celebrating with him, we'll have to settle for online birthday wishes instead!


You see, my sister Danielle (Dani to those of you who haven't called her "Danielle" your whole lives) and her family are currently in another part of the world. They left in January of this year when little Josiah looked like this:



Now the little man isn't so "little" anymore as he celebrates his 1st birthday!



Danielle, Joey, Josiah and new baby (due in a couple of weeks) are coming home in December and I CANT WAIT to see them. We love you guys and miss you tons. Happy Birthday "chunk"!

A Brother's Love

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, Kallen and I take a "Water Kids" swimming class together! After I had Kynlee, I thought it would be a good idea to do something with just Kallen. Something that didn't involve stopping and taking care of Kynz when she needed me, and since we've taken swimming classes in the past, I thought it was the perfect thing to continue! We're fortunate enough to have a lot of family around, so the grandma's take turns watching Kynlee during the lesson so I can focus my whole attention on Kallen.

Well...this last week, it just so happened that both my mom, and Kevin's mom were out of town! My brother came to the pool and helped out on Tuesday (Thanks TJ), but instead of asking him to do that Thursday as well, I asked my friend Brandy! Of course she agreed, and all was hunky doory!

As Kallen and I were dropping Kynlee off, and getting ready to leave, I handed her to Brandy and proceeded to grab Kallen and walk out the door! He instantly started crying, saying "noooooo, my sissy," while reaching out towards Kynlee!

I was trying to calm him down and get him all excited about swimming, but to no avail. He just didn't understand why his beloved sister wasn't going with us. I got him in the car, kicking and screaming, and drove to swimming class...surely he would calm down eventually...right???

Well he did calm down, but not before repeatedly asking through tears and sobs "sissy go bye bye too??? Peeeaaase."

I'm happy to report that once we were there, we had an excellent time at swimming, and the joy on Kallen's face when we arrived to pick Kynlee up...was priceless!!!

A Messy Job

We haven't actually started "potty training" Kallen per say, because I really want to make sure he's ready before I go through the headache of it all. We have a little potty chair, talk about it while changing diapers, and openly allow him to be there and involved when Kevin and I are using the restroom (he flushes for us, and washes his hands with us, etc.).

He has in fact successfully used the potty chair on a couple of different occasions, simply because I "caught him in the act" and got him to the bathroom in time!

He turns 2 in a couple of weeks, and that was going to be my "hard core" potty training starting point. I've heard when they're ready, they're ready, and the training process is relatively "easy". If you push it too early, it either takes a lot longer, or they tend to refuse the process all together. Not sure if that's the case, but we went with it!

Anyways...yesterday I was on the phone with Kevin and looked over to notice that Kallen had taken off his diaper. Okay...no big deal...When I get off the phone I'll put a new one on him (he's past the "get a diaper on him quick" age...I thought). Not even a couple of minutes later, I see my darling son squatting in the corner...pooping. AHHHH..."I pooped" he said. I instantly hung up with Kevin, grabbed Kallen and helped him continue the task at hand in the appropriate place!

He went, we cheered, and then the clean-up began. Sorry to be graphic...but at least it was a log, not a blob! It was at that point I realized that he is definitely ready to begin this whole process, and I mentally prepared myself for the messy job that is Potty Training!

A Fake Out!!!

I am someone who loves having fruit out on the counter. I love the "homey" feeling of a basket full of fruit...what I don't love however, are the wonderful flies that hover around said baskets!!!

Well...when visiting my aunt a few weeks ago, I noticed a grand basket of apples sitting atop her counter. After taking a step closer I noticed that those delectable delicatessens weren't apples at all, but merely Styrofoam imitations. Turns out those beautiful imitations were from the local "Dollar Store"...who knew!

I quickly made a trip to our own Dollar Store where I too found some apples for my own basket! They look pretty real wouldn't you say...So real that Kallen brought one to me this afternoon and this is what it looked like!

Uh...you can't eat those buddy!

Babies, Babies Everywhere!

Last night at 9:40 pm, my cousin gave birth to a beautiful baby girl...

Avree Jean

6lbs 13 oz

19 inches

She is gorgeous, and if I could figure out how to get the pictures off my phone, I'd share her with you all! Congratulations Derek and Aubree...I can't wait to meet your precious little one!