Daddy's Home.... YEAH!

This week we had to pull out our "Western" gear because my mom's birthday was this week and we were going to have a special dinner/ party for her that required "Full Western Attire!"

The kids had a lot of fun dressing up!

Katelyn's tears are because she didn't want the gate closed in the playroom! However, the stairs are right outside of the playroom but Ms. Independent does not like any barriers around her!

Ms. Cowgirl grabs a wrench from the Power Tools set... such a "girly" girl, huh? LOL!

She is completely obsessed with dressing herself right now! Any random clothes she sees laying around have to go on her body! LOL!

They are both REALLY into books... they love "reading!"

Tuesday night.... we went to Chipotle then to the airport to get Daddy! We said, "No more trips for you or else there is going to be a natural disaster in THIS house!" LOL!

Yeah! Daddy, we are soooooooooooooooooo glad you are home and love all of the gifts you brought us back!

Playdate at Brooke's House!

It had been way too long since we had seen some of our playgroup friends... so, Brooke who always hosts the best play dates ever invited us over and the kids had a great time but it felt like a reunion for us mom's... we were so excited to see each other!

Thanks, Brooke, for such a fun play date!

Then the last 4 nights we spent at my mom's house... the purpose of this was to train Katelyn to sleep there in a pack and play because until this point she would only sleep in her crib in her room! So, "Pack and Play" boot camp started and she graduated successfully!

Asher's 4th Birthday!

Monday afternoon we went to Asher's 4th Birthday Party at a gymnastics place... so, let's just say that most of these pictures are "action" shots as my kids were running around so much that I couldn't get a picture of them standing still looking at me... LOL!

The funniest thing at this party is that Andrew and Jackson who both have little brother's around Katelyn's age were OBSESSED with Katelyn! They wouldn't leave her alone... they had a whole gym to run around in, a bounce house, etc but they only wanted to play with Katelyn! Katelyn made sure they knew her boundaries:) She loved playing with them and then she told them if she didn't like what they were playing!!! I guess she should get used to this now... she will probably be hanging out with her older brother's friends for a long time!

Andrew and Will (who also has a little brother around Katelyn's age!) playing with Katelyn! She was HOT property with the older boys at this party!
Andrew and Katelyn!

Katelyn checking out the kids doing the parachute... she was trying to find space to fit in:)

Then that afternoon, Leigh Anne came and picked up Daniel to spend the night at their new house in Power Ranch and they went swimming at the community pool then went to see the new Winnie The Pooh movie the next morning and to In-n-Out for lunch then back to our house! Thanks, Auntie, for a fun slumber party!

I had a doctors appointment that afternoon to get tested for Rheumatoid Arthritis... I have been having EXTREME joint pain so that appointment was followed up with blood work and needless to say... everything came back normal! So, now we just have to figure out what is going on!

That Wednesday was our last pre-school class and Thursday, Daniel got to go to the movies with my mom!

Only 5 more night until Brendon is home!
Fact about Haiti: The average person in Haiti makes $1 a day!

Puking = very FEW pictures!

In my attempt to catch my blog up... I realized I didn't take very many pictures this week...

Saturday... we had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese for Madison's 3rd birthday and I didn't take any pics:( That evening we went to my parents for dinner and I was amazed how all of the trinket toys he got at Chuck E. Cheese kept him busy pretty much the whole night!

Wednesday was our 3rd week of our pre-school group and this is where all the DRAMA started! All of a sudden Katelyn burped then spit up a little which I thought was really weird! THEN all of a sudden she puked all over the place! I was thinking she is too young to get the stomach bug so she must be dehydrated or ate something that didn't settle well with her. We cleaned her up and I was on my way to the Gap because my friend Brooke had put aside some things for me and they only hold them for 24 hours. So.... I literally walked into Gap and Katelyn puked again so I ran out of the store then came round 2 which soaked me head to toe in puke and all over the front sidewalk of Gap! Daniel was getting totally freaked/ grossed out! So, we sat on the curb by our car and stripped Katelyn down.... then I looked at me and thought I am going to strip down too but I thought that I would probably get pulled over for indecent exposure! The 20 min car ride home was awful because I was soaked in puke and smelled like puke....blahhhh!

That evening, Daniel and I went on a "Mommy/ Son" Date. First, we dropped dinner off for a couple who were just able to bring their new baby home from the hospital after weeks/ months in the NICU then we went back to Gap (he LOVES to shop) so he picked out some great things and I picked out some great things... then we went to Panda Express for dinner!

Thursday... Daniel went to the movies with Grandma! That afternoon Paris came over and it was Daniel's week and she educated me on the importance of Block Play and gave me pages and pages on games to play with blocks, etc. That evening.... Brendon and I went on a date night but it ended early because Katelyn puked 3 times at my parents house! ughhh!

Friday afternoon we were going to Andrew's 4th birthday party at Peter Piper Pizza and we were all in the car on our way to the party when we heard Katelyn cough then puke EVERYWHERE! All over herself, her car seat, the windows, socks, shoes.... you get the picture! So, Brendon dropped Daniel and I off at the party then he took her home to clean her up and picked us up when the party was over!

I love how Birthday Parties totally wipe my kids out!

This one was a happy camper though... the weird thing is that she would puke but act perfectly normal the rest of the time!

That evening we went to my parents for dinner and she seemed fine!

Then Saturday... we went to the Haymon's for a Couples' Baby Shower (it was actually the first couples' baby shower Brendon and I had ever been to before!) for Andy and Rania Harb. We were all having a great time... kids playing, etc.... it was getting late and we were thinking we were going to leave soon but Katelyn started this coughing thing again so I went to pick her up and BOOM! She puked watermelon all over me again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She had ate a LOT of watermelon that night but it ALL came up! Fortunately, Nate and Janelle live right around the corner so she went home and got me clothes to change into! I always carry a change of clothes for my kids but who knew that I should start carrying a change of clothes!

Fortunately, that was her last time to throw up:)

However that Sunday night... Brendon left for his trip to Haiti! The kids and I alone for 9 nights! So... stay tuned!

L.I.F.E.

Wednesday was our 2nd week of our Pre-School Life Group...

Thursday was Katelyn's 15 month well check up... we knew she was our little peanut and Dr. Jones confirmed that by letting us know that she is in the 25th percentile for her weight:) She can thank her poppy for her great metabolism... because this child EATS and EATS and EATS but apparently she burns it like crazy too! Dr. Jones said if there is one word that sums up Katelyn it would be "CONFIDENT!" I think I like that word more than the word I have been using for her... "Stubborn!" LOL!

We also had company from Texas that came and stayed with us from Thursday to Monday.

Friday... Paris (our in-home educator) came over and her hour was dedicated to spending time with Katelyn and I. Paris described Katelyn as "Determined and a girl who perseveres" and I think these are two great character traits for our girl!

After Paris left, we all dressed up like cows for Cow Appreciation Day at Chik-fil-a and all 4 of us received free meals! Our picture is up on their Facebook Page if you are interested in seeing it... LOL! They were also giving away a 36" plush cow and the winner was going to be notified the following Monday... well, guess what??? WE WON THE COW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This cow is Daniel's BEST FRIEND! He loves this cow and asks if the cow can go everywhere with us!!!
My sister just told me tonight that Christopher won something directly from Dan Cathy recently... can you tell our family kind of likes Chik-fil-a!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then that evening our friends (The Olson's) invited us over for dinner... they have a little boy a couple of months older than Katelyn but somehow Katelyn was bossing BOTH of the boys around that night... it was sooo funny!

The Best Cookies!

So... my parents went away for 2 weeks to visit lots of family and friends. The town that my mom is from and we lived there for a few years when I was very little was called Terre Haute in Indiana. At one point, this town's claim to fame was they were home to the Clabber Girl Baking Powder factory.... now they have turned this factory into a very cute museum, bakery, gift shop, etc. So, my mom brought me back a package of their chocolate chip cookie mix.... Daniel and I had to open it immediately and bake us some treats!!!! THEY WERE EXTREMELY YUMMY!

4th of July 2011

I think this was our first 4th of July that was very low key... but I LOVED IT! It was really nice enjoying my wonderful family... we did a LOT of this:

Pool Time!

He is a complete fish and could stay in the pool ALL DAY so we did!

We did LOTS of water balloons too! Daniel got a package and he had been begging us to do this for a long time and we had a blast!

Guess who else LOVED water balloons?

Priorites???

Just for fun... look at the below picture! What (or Who) doesn't belong? LOL! We are working on explaining to her that is not her area but she LOVES this little cut in!

This is how my weekend was going.... Katelyn who we call a "cuddle bug" because she loves to be held and cuddled... she thrives on it and she needs lots of "touch" time but this weekend she took "cudding" to a whole other level! She didn't want to be put down at any point during the day... ever! So... I looked at my house which really needed my attention and then I looked at my angel and thought I will have laundry 10 years from now but I know I will not have a 15 month old who just wants to sit on the couch and read books and get lots of hugs and kisses!

However, I thought I should bring my camera out and shoot some pictures of my house because Brendon and I occasionally have a crazy conversation on whether we should have a 3rd child and I thought I would like to take pictures of how chaotic my house looks with 2 so I can only imagine what a household of 3 would look like!

The above two pictures are of my large laundry room I have... one side is for the normal appliances that belong in a laundry room and the other side I have recently turned into a playroom to hold most of the toys that belong downstairs because I got tired of seeing them sprawled throughout the whole house:) However, please notice that there is laundry over-flowing from the washer... toys everywhere (however, toys everywhere is normal at our house!)

There was so much laundry to do that there were baskets of laundry in the kitchen and the hallway! Clingy Baby = NO LAUNDRY is getting done today! So, I had this internal argument going on... gazing at the mountains of laundry and gazing at my precious baby who was in desperate need of "mamma" time!

Did I forget to tell you about the sink of dishes... overflowing on to the counter tops and the dishwasher!!!!

More toys spread throughout the house!:)

Okay... so I will admit it... "it" (the house!) got to me and I waived the white flag of surrender. I think the boys were doing something but they were happy to step in and entertain Katelyn while I started chipping away at the mountain of housework to accomplish!

So, the laundry got washed and dried then comes part 2: Folding and putting away!
I have a little helper:) Actually Katelyn loves dressing up (already!) and piles of laundry make her so happy because she has lots of options of clothes to try on!

P.S. Do you notice all of the gallery frames in the back??? Well, that was one of our "weekend" projects to do and they are hanging on the wall in our playroom now and I love, love, love seeing lots of pictures of my babies in their playroom... must take a pic of the final project and post:)

I know if you are a mom reading this post... you get it! I have to say I really like it when my other "mom" friends have posts like this on their blogs because it makes me feel "normal" so hopefully this post did this for you... I hope you feel encouraged to know we all have been there, done that!