Pat, pat, pat! Blast off!

Nathan pointed out to me tonight that Kaitlyn has started to pat, pat, pat, like the Little Einsteins do before Rocket blasts off when playing with the Einstein toys. It's so cute! She really enjoys doing everything James does, and now they are really starting to play together. They run around together, play on the couch together, all of it. It really gets to me emotionally sometimes, to see my kids playing together and laughing, having fun. Silly, I known, but it's just one of those daily reminders that having a family is all that I really wanted, ever.
The four of us were standing in the family room tonight singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" together. James has it down, but I remember so clearly when he could only get to his head and toes through the whole song. I just found this video on my google videos of when the Neiperts were here visiting when Kaitlyn and Bennett were brand new. See how young James and Harrison are?!?



Kaitlyn has also found a new word, NO! No, no, no. When she says it it's so funny because it's really nasal and long and sounds more like "now" than "no". NOOOOOOW, it sounds like. NOOOOOW. :) Plus she's got this great look to go with it where she furrows her brow and looks at you in disgust. It's hysterical!
"Kaitlyn, do you want a snack?"
"NOOOOOOOOOW."

However when she does want something she doesn't say "yes" but "yeah" or "yea!". It's so fun to see her discovering how to communicate. Next year at this time she probably won't STOP talking. :)

Did you know...

... that Kaitlyn can wear pig tails now?!? ;)








... and that bath time brings out the devil in us?

Wheeeeee!

We have a road in our neighborhood that we call the "whee" road. It has large speed bumps every (ridiculous) 1/8 of a mile or something like that, and has about 10 0f them. I hate this road, I never use it, but I've discovered that having kids along for the ride on this road is so much more fun. James always wants me to count as we're approaching the bumps, "One, two, three... WHEE!" I say. The kids laugh, and James always says, "How about again?"
Today was the first time Kaitlyn started saying "WHEE!" along with me. It was so cute and her voice was so high. It really made me laugh, and enjoy one of her "firsts".
James has been on a kick lately about wanting to "tell us something". When we're about to leave the house without him, or when we leave the bedroom at night, he says, "MOM WAIT! I've got to tell you something!"
"Yes honey?" I say.
Then he replies with the famous, "If you see a ____, yell ____! Okay?" This comes from watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Diego and Dora. Example, "If you see a sheep, yell SHEEP!" He did this a few times when we were in Utah, and I replied with something like, "Okay Diego." And what does he say? "I'm not Diego, I'm JAMES!"
Today when we were on the whee road, I said to him, "James! I have to tell you something! If you see a bump, yell, BUMP!" He says, "Okay Diego!" :)
James has a ton of fun at school. He absolutely loves it. He is going to the Methodist School for Early Education here in Winter Park. This year he has Mrs. Wilhite, and goes Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 to 12. When we took him to his orientation meeting to meet Mrs. Wilhite, time was up and he really did not want to leave... that's how much he likes it- and that was just orientation.
This morning when we were getting ready to go to school, he was saying things like, "I don't want to go to school, I want to go to a fiesta!" I kinda joked with him saying things like, Sure, I'll take you to a fiesta instead (when we were still going to school all along). Mean Mommy. :) Ha. Turns out there was a FIESTA today in his classroom. Egan, a boy in his class, just turned 3, so they had cupcakes with the number 3 on each of them. James' wish was granted. I can't believe the coincidence.
Last year, when James was 2, he went to the Methodist School once a week, on Wednesdays with Mrs. Tomlinson. It was rough in the beginning, he didn't take separation very well at first. It took a few, oh, probably 4 times, for him not to cry when Mom or Dad left him there. When it clicked though, that school was fun, it was smooth sailing from then on out.... That is, until one day, Mark pushed him into the bushes on the playground. Mark was in his class, and they found out (after this episode) that he was dealing with some anger management issues and behavioral problems. Poor James, I guess it came out on him one day on the playground. Every time we talked about school from then on out, he'd say something about Mark pushing him into the bushes. Mark no longer attends the Methodist School, I found out from the teachers aid on orientation day. I told James that Mark wasn't going to be in his class anymore, and that he's going to a different school. James says, "... with the other James'?" I guess he thinks that Mark is going to be pushing other boys named James into the bushes at his new school. Kinda funny, kinda sad. Ha.
James and Kaitlyn wore each other out tonight running around after dinner. They were running from the door that goes out to the garage to the ottoman in the family room. Every time they'd stop, they'd make me say, "On your marks, get set, GO!" and off they would run. James first, fast as can be, Kaitlyn second, toddling around half walking/half stumbling quickly. I caught a video of this on my movie camera. Hopefully someday I'll upload it. Don't hold your breath, Mom. James told me though, that they were the fastest runners in the world! I then asked him if he was going to go to the Olympics someday and he said, "Oh, sure!" I almost felt like saying, "Well, don't drop the baton!" Ooooh, bad joke. Ha ha.

Favorite Utah Pictures

Swap Meet

What is a Swap Meet anyway? I just thought of it as a title of this blog because of the following story....
Today at lunch we were all sitting around our cozy little table, having sandwiches (kids LOVE the PB and J thing, so they were having that) and some leftover grilled zucchini from the other night. Kaitlyn is a veggie hound, if there is something green on her plate, she eats it. It's too funny. James, is the opposite... he's NOT a veggie hound, unless it is broccoli (which I think is a bit weird-ha). So when we were sitting around talking and eating, I looked at Kaitlyn's plate... PB and J, no zucchini. I looked at James' plate... no PB and J, lots of zucchini. Both kids were sitting there staring at their plates like it wasn't much fun eating today. Nathan and I looked at each other and knew exactly what the other was thinking.... We switched their plates and they both went to town! :)
I know I've mentioned the thing about the kids running under the sheets as Nathan and I fold them. Tonight we were folding them after Kaitlyn had gone to bed, so James was blissfully having this ritual all to himself. I came out with something like, "Oh my gosh, there's a boy under there!" at one point, and James laughed pretty hard. When we started to fold the next sheet, he went under it, and said while giggling, "There's gonna be a boy under here!" So cute.
In a bit of difficult kid news, James bonked his chin so hard on top of Kaitlyn's head this morning, that he chipped three of his teeth!!! These things happen so fast! I called my brother as soon as we figured out that his teeth were hurting and chipped (he didn't say anything right away, so we found out after his nap when he said his teeth hurt) to ask what to do. It seems like he'll be fine, but if he's still hurting in a few days or so, we're going to take him to a dentist. He probably should go anyway. Ha ha.

We're drowning, but at least we can laugh.

James baffles me every day with some of the things he says. The other day we were riding in the car and he spotted two pieces of wood on a vacant property. He said to me, "MOM! Those two sticks look like a see-saw!" Oh my gosh, they totally did. One was just leaning on the other, and in now way was it to scale, but I can see how he would think that! We had just played on a see-saw at Grandma and Papa's house in Utah.
In this day and age with cell phones, our kids will grow up without hearing ringing, but will hear ringtones. I have the song Paralyzer by Finger Eleven as a ringtone for numbers that I don't know. James, Kaitlyn and I were almost to James' school this morning when that song came on XM radio. James SAYS, "Mom! That's your phone song!"
Kaitlyn is sitting next to me and just pushed the caps lock key, notice SAYS above. :) She is a darling baby girl. Not so much a baby anymore, that's for sure. I photographed a 3 month old boy yesterday at our house, and to see that little guy next to her is just amazing. Just one year, and they are completely different. She is constantly getting hurt at this age, and she knows and says the word OWIE! very well these days. She has even started saying "OW!" when she gets hurt.
Last night our power went off during this horrible tropical storm that we've had for five days now. Fay.... I was enjoying a Bud Light since we had just popped our mini pizzas into the oven after it was just barely pre-heated. We sat down for dinner after the pizzas were WARM, to eat, and James said, "Mom! That's Daddy's beer!" I replied with, "Well, no, it's Mommy's beer." Then, Kaitlyn piped up... "BEER!" I told Nathan that his daughter just said beer, he came over to her, said, "Kaitlyn, say beer." She said, "BEER!" absolutely perfectly! She can't say "mommy" but she can say "beer"! Uh oh. Ha ha ha.
The sun just appeared after 6 days! WOOOHOOOOOO! Bye bye Fay.

Rain delay.

Rain delays are supposed to happen to baseball games or golf tournaments, not to first days of school. James is supposed to start school tomorrow as he is scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday this year. Tropical storm Fay has interrupted, causing his first day of school to be delayed.
The whole time in Utah I was telling James that when we got home he could go see his friends at school. He got so excited! Today I had to tell him that he won't be going to school tomorrow because there is a big storm outside and no boys and girls will be at school. He was sad! He says,"but I miss my friends!" Awwww.
We got home from Utah last night. The whole trip went without a hitch until James started crying when the plane was descending after our 4 hours in the air. He was sitting next to Daddy on the left side of the plane for the descent, while the rest of the time he was with me and Kaitlyn on the right side of the plane. I insisted that Nathan let him sit in the empty middle seat next to him for the last 15 minutes of the flight. So anyway, James tells Daddy that his tummy hurts, and really starts crying. I say, "GET THE BAG READY!" I give Nathan a barf bag, he opens it, waits a second, starts to pull it away, then James pukes. ALL OVER NATHAN. He got half of it in the bag though, but Nathan insisted (as would I have done so) in changing his clothes immediately after getting our bags from bag claim. Luckily, most of it came off to make it look like Nathan was just wet... but unfortunately in the WRONG areas... if you know what I mean. Right in the lap. Eeeeeww. Poor Nathan.
This whole thing though reminds me of the time that James and I ventured out to Florida when he was only a few months old. It was his first airplane ride, and I took him by myself to go see Grandma and Papa in Orlando. James had always had a sensitive stomach, and always was a spitter-upper. Ask my mom... if you gave him ANYTHING over a 4 ounce bottle, he'd throw up, everywhere. Apparently I hadn't learned my lesson thus far. So this time when I was taking him to Florida, worried about his poor little ears, I gave him a bottle for take-off. It had been about an hour or two since his last bottle, but apparently that wasn't enough digestion time. :) I wore his throw up the rest of the way home! The kicker? The guy that was supposed to be sitting next to me had moved across the aisle and into the row in front of us. James would have puked all over that guy! Whew!
James didn't get sick again yesterday, so we're pretty sure it was from the turbulence. He even feasted on two hot dogs for dinner (sans buns), which is what he told us he wanted for dinner even before he puked on Daddy. :)

Daddy has arrived!

Daddy arrived in Utah last night! We were so very happy to see him. It's too bad that he got back to the house too late for the kids to see him, but as Nathan reports, when he walked into James' room this morning, all James could say is, "WOW"! :)
Our trip out here has been wonderful. Mom has been such a good help for me, spoiling me a bit so I can kinda "slack off" just a bit. Ha. I've had a nap every day since we got here, a treat that doesn't come very often at home.
The kids have sure been great for what a two hour time change can throw at them. I really can't complain, they are such troopers. I wonder how the reverse trip will go!
We have kept very busy here, doing things around Promontory that are great for kids. We have been to the pool, the Kinikinik (SP?) cabin where they have child care to play on the playground, and we even got to go to the horse stables to pet three huge beautiful horses! It was amazing. Such amazing creatures! I haven't seen a horse that close up in years.
Kaitlyn's vocabulary is growing every day. The ones that I find most amusing are "see!" which has replaced the "itsit?" that she was throwing around a few weeks ago. The other is "there" or in her terms, "dare". I found out that she got this from me, since every time I'm finished changing her diaper or putting a barette in her hair, I say, "There!". So now she does it. It's so cute! She'll also go stand by the front door, hang on to the door handle and say, "side!" She's going to be the adventurous kid of the family, I swear.
Kaitlyn has kept us on our toes out here, since the house has a ton of stairs. She runs for them! We about have heart attacks every time.
James gave me a compliment today, and it was very sweet. I have my "bangs" (not really), pulled back with a clip in my hair that I bought at the fabulous H&M in New York. I went in after he woke up from his nap and he said, "I like your hair barette today!" Awww, shucks.
James is full of funnies. The second night we were here, as I was tucking him into bed he tells me, "Mom, I need a friend like Daddy." Oh, we're glad he's here!

Utah, here we come!

The kids and I are off to Utah today, I'll try to get some posts done while we're there. C-ya!

Day's end and I'm tired...

... but I have to put this down before I forget.
Today Nathan and I were getting the kids in the car to go to my parent's house for dinner. Nathan was staying behind to have a shower and do some house stuff, so James was asking him to make a heart on the window. Blah, long story short, he wanted to give dad kisses, hugs, all of this stuff. So Nathan does all that James requests, then goes inside. James says after a short little sigh, "Ok! Let's BOOGIE!" :) It was so funny, I literally put my head on the steering wheel I was laughing so hard. Cute little guy.

Uh oh, owie.

Kaitlyn has added to her vocabulary. Not only is she saying a few more words like owie and uh-oh, she is doing a much better job of imitating what I say. Yesterday in the car the kids and I were driving to an appointment, and I was telling them that soon we get to go to Utah and see Grandma Kathy and Papa. Kaitlyn says, "Papa!" Perfectly. So cute!
When we got out of the car I asked her where her bow went... she said, "BO!" Just makes me laugh. I love it!

"I GIVE UP!"

As I have mentioned before, James really likes to watch TV. He does NOT like it when I turn it off. I've tried giving him warnings such as, "After the show is over, we're going to turn off the TV." He says okay. Then I'll say, "The show is over, I'm going to turn off the TV now." He says, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ha ha. It's actually not very funny when I'm extremely frustrated with him. He does a bit of a better job when you let him push the red button to turn it off, but never-the-less he usually gets upset right after that too.
A few days ago, we had been through this whole process, and James was pretty upset. He looked at me, shook his little fists, and with his most angry voice said, "I GIVE UP!" and walked into the living room. It was REALLY hard not to laugh. That's just one of those moments that you know your little one really is upset so you don't want to laugh in his face, but after you turn around, you have a pretty good giggle to yourself.
James is starting to inflect anger in his voice when he's playing by himself. I've heard this is completely normal, so that makes me feel better. He'll be playing with his toys and start to tell them things that I have heard Nathan and I say to him for discipline. Such as "... if you do that again, you're going to the naughty spot!" Or "... I mean it!" To me though, hearing those words come out of a three year old is pretty dang funny.
Nathan and I have been doing the "warning" idea for some time now. Whether it be for something to be coming to an end, like TV time or time at the park, to warning for discipline (James if you do that again, you're going to the naughty step). I've been adding to this, "Did you hear me?" He says yes. Lately though, I've been adding to this, "What did I say?" He says, "I dunno." So then I have to go over it again. I never realized that he always said that he heard me, but really, wasn't listening at all.

How am I alive with a melted heart?

James melted my heart the other night when I was tucking him into bed. I was snuggling up to him and giving him kisses and he told me, "Mom, you're the best Mommy ever!" AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. I still can't believe it. I've been waiting to hear that forever!
Let's see if he has the same thing to say when he's 16. Ha.

In other news, my friend Sandra Fernandez Davidson and her husband Tod had her baby girl yesterday. Dylan Reine Davidson. What a pretty name! I'm so happy for them!
Sandra and I met when we were 3, yes 3, in ballet class. We then went to St. Andrew School together and were in the same class until 8th grade when they separated us. We also went to high school together and then lost touch when we went to separate colleges. Sandra and I spent a ton of our childhood together, at each other's houses, sleeping over, playing, laughing, and making fools out of ourselves. We had a blast.
I'm so excited for her to be embarking on this journey of motherhood. I remember before I had James I knew that my life was going to change, but never knew how much. What a beautiful change.

TV or no TV?

It's always been a debate on whether or not you should let your kids watch television. I think it's fine as long as the kids are watching something GOOD, with a good message or a good educational lesson. James watched a ton, yes, probably too much, of the Baby Einstein DVDs when he was a baby. He loved them, and is still transfixed on the television whenever it is on. Now as he his older, one of the shows he watches is the Little Einsteins on Disney Channel. I love this show because each episode contains great lessons, famous classical music, fine art pieces (paintings, sculptures, etc.) and famous locations from around the world. It seems to really sink into James.
A few days ago we went to Michael's and we were looking at ready-made frames for a few things in our house. James saw the leaning tower of Pisa, and says, "MOM! Look! It's the Eiffel Tower like on the Little Einsteins!" I was so proud of him, I didn't care that he called it the wrong thing, I just was fascinated that he recognized a building on such a small piece of paper stuck inside a random photo frame at Michael's!

4 Years and Counting

Nathan and I tied the knot four years ago today. What a wonderful day, and what a wonderful 4 years it has been. Things aren't always easy, marriage isn't always easy, but we love each other and have our kids to bring us together whenever we aren't quite on the same page. We laugh a lot, sometimes at each other, sometimes at ourselves, but mostly we just get a kick out of the kids.
Thanks honey for all of your support, love, and yes, humor on occasion. I love you.

... SAPPY, I know....

Update....
Nathan took me out to a fabulous dinner at our family's favorite restaurant, Del Frisco's. We both had steaks, potatoes and mushrooms, but this ain't your run of the mill steak and potatoes kind of meal. Fabulous steaks, cooked to perfection served on a sizzling plate (it's so hot it sizzles), and the sides are just impeccable. Cheesecake for dessert... can't get better than that, period. We had a wonderful bottle of wine, followed by an even better wine by the glass. We had a good time. :)
The funniest part of the day? I came home with the kids to find three beautiful red roses (red roses were our wedding flower) for me and a card. I opened the card, read it, giggled, and then gave Nathan his card (after running and signing it REALLY quickly). He opened it and I said, "Imagine that... we picked out the SAME CARD!" Two bears or some similar kind of creature are on the front, and they are agreeing that they get along so well because they can discuss anything. Then you open it and is says, "And although you're never right, at least we can always discuss anything." Ha ha ha. Figures we got each other the same card. :)

... And the Winner Is...

Chris Neipert for sending the world's funniest forwards! I know when I have a forward in my inbox from Chris, it'll make me laugh my head off. Thanks Chris for brightening up my days with other people's misfortunes!!! Ha ha! LOL!

Ugh, Grocery Shopping

The kids and I went to Publix today for some groceries for dinner and for the rest of the week. Seems like I can't get out of there without spending a fortune, but anyway.
The kids love to ride in the double "green cart" they call it, which is fashioned like a car, and each child has their own steering wheel. They love to "drive" and then of course reach over and drive the other wheel to see if it makes any difference. I thought I was going to go crazy today with them though, as Kaitlyn started to kick the cart and make noises. Of course, James followed, and I couldn't get them to stop. Hmmm... next aisle over, fruit snacks, 2 for 1. !!! They didn't even eat them... the box was enough. James had "Nemo" box, and Kaitlyn had the "Little Einsteins" box. Whew, crisis averted. I though I was going to have to find a naught spot for James. Fruit snacks to the rescue.
The cutest part of my day: James and Kaitlyn actually giving each other fish face kisses while riding in the cart! So cute!

Good Morning Sunshine, Hello World!

When James was younger and we had just moved into our house here in WP, I opened the shutters in his room one morning and said, "Hello world!" This must have stuck with him because I caught him saying it a few times. It's just one of those things that I don't want to forget.
Every morning when I get Kaitlyn out of her crib, we go over to her window, open the curtains and then the shutters. Oh, wait, let me clarify, SHE opens the shutters after I open the curtains. It's so cute! She always says, "Ittsiiit!" and then pulls them open. This is the first word she always says to me when I get her out of the crib too. It has yet to be determined what the heck it means, but she says it over and over and over again. Of course it should be obvious, but it's not! :)
She also has reversed the process at bed time. We walk over to the shutters and she has learned to push them up and close them. I love it!
Kaitlyn has also crossed into the next danger zone. She can now climb up onto our ottoman and the couch all by herself, although she usually uses the other to push against. Whoa Nelly. Here we go!

"You Look Like Kaitlyn!"

Kaitlyn is 16 months old. She's never had a hair cut, since we're trying to let it grow out so she doesn't have any bangs. It's very cute and she has curls, so I really dread having to cut it. She likes barrettes (to keep the bangs out of her face), but takes them out of her own hair usually within a few minutes of me putting it in. So most of the time at home, her bangs are in her face since I can't really do anything about it.
The kids and I were just playing on the couch, tickling each other and such, and James grabbed my hair and put it in my face. He then announced, "MOM! You look like Kaitlyn!" Ha ha ha.

Bye Dad! Have a Good Day at Work!

Nathan just left for work, and I wanted to write down something that makes me giggle every time he leaves. James makes him go around our huge family and give a hug AND a kiss to everyone. If Nathan forgets one of those, James reminds him. It's also James' tactic on getting Nathan to stay for ONE MORE MINUTE before he leaves for work. It's so funny! A few times Nathan has been half way out the door when James yells, "DAD! You forgot to give hugs and kisses!" So funny.
Likewise, when Nathan gets home from work at the end of the day we are usually here to greet him. He knows the kids are going to bombard him, so yesterday he went so far as to not bring any of the groceries inside when he walked in for the first time. Smart, smart man.
James always yells, "DAD! You're HOME!" and runs to him, while Kaitlyn always says, "Da-DY, Da-DY! Da-DY!" and runs to him. Their delight makes us smile and laugh and really appreciate their ages right now. It's so fun to see them light up when he walks in. Nathan always wrestles with them too, which is hysterical!
Right now the kids are running back and forth from the garage door to the ottoman laughing at each other. They are laughing hysterically. "They" always say that little ones under two years usually do what is called parallel play, they play next to another child but not necessarily with them. Apparently this does not apply to Kaitlyn, as she is a HUGE fan of her big brother, and loved to mimic him and run with him.
Just a few moments ago, James was teaching Kaitlyn how to sit on the kitchen floor and slide on her butt. Now... if only I could invent some way for those Swiffer things to stick to their bottoms, we'd get somewhere. :)