Bubble Bath

Been very busy lately, seems like the days slip away so quickly!! This was juat a fun bubble bath night. Usually Josh and Kenna do bubble bath once a week, but one night when Josh worked late we decided thatthey both wanted to play in the "big tub."

--cute kiddos--

--zachary trying to escape the crazy sister--

--bubble hat--

Funny Sayings

Some of McKenna's recent sayings - worth notating:

- She cannot pronounce some "v's" resulting in some funny words like "glubs" aka gloves.
- She is very disappointed that we cannot seem to find princes for her princesses. This forces many princesses to dance with other princesses at the ball. Oh well, perhaps this can open up some conversations that families come in all types :)
- She HATES her hair in her face...to the point that she will hit her head and scream "AHHH my HAIR is in my FACE!!" I suppose it is annoying....?
- Similarly, she HATES it when her shirt rides up. This usually happens when entering/exiting the carseat. If you don't "pull her shurt down" (yes pronounced shurt) then she gets incredibly upset!

Snow Days

FINALLY - after weeks and weeks and weeks of snow, it has been warm enough to go outside and play. We haven't had a full week of school since before Christmas break because of the freezing temps, ice and snow. The poor kids are going to have to go to school a week and a half later into the summer.

--mommy and kenna playing in the igloo--

--John (our neighbor) spent 4 hours working on this...sure his kids were happy--

--the neighbors dug into the big snow hill in the cul de sac--

--daddy, kenna and rylee sledding in the backyard (we have a GREAT hill!)--

--Zachary and mommy hanging out inside--

--close up of the cutest face ever--

--kids anxious to go outside!--

First Word

We have officially decided that Zachary has said his first word "Daw-he." Zachary LOVES Rylee. Ever since he was born we have made sure that he knows to treat the Doggie gently, and we often say, "look, doggie!" Always in a sing-songy voice and always with big smiles. Apparently it is contagious because now everytime Zachary sees Rylee, he points and says "Daw-he!" SOOOO cute....he is growing up so quickly!!!

Poor Walley

All Winter our Altima "Walley" has been buried in snow. We got the acadia before the first major snowstorm...so there really was no reason to dig the other car out. Lately McKenna has become very concerned. As we got home the other day she asked me if she could talk to Walley. I said, sure, and got her out of her carseat. As I was getting Zachary out of his, I heard her talking to the car. She said "poor walley. I'm sorry that we can't drive you. This spring I promise that we will go driving." Then she patted the car's door and gave it a little hug.

You have such a sweet heart little one!

It All Started With Eggs

So, I gave Zachary a few bites of eggs a couple of weeks ago, and he handled them like a champ, so when we were rushed to get to Kindermusik on Tuesday I thought, great, scrambled eggs for dinner, scrambled yolks for Z. He ate had a great night and went to bed. When he woke up the next morning, there was puke all over his bed - gross....So I gave him a bath, and washed all the sheets.

In my mind I was thinking...no more eggs for a few months!

Then the call came, Eski calls at 1pm telling me that Zachary is throwing up, and we needed to come get him. I called Josh and told him that I couldn't get out of my meeting. So he starting driving to Eski's. In the meantime she called again saying that Kenna threw up all over herself. So Josh got both kids home. Zachary had diarrhea and Kenna kept throwing up. I got home at 5 and took over.

--poor thing was so tired--

Needless to say, 24 hours later the kids are both great! Josh has it now and is quarantined to the basement. I may jinx it by saying I haven't gotten it yet...time will tell! Seems this flu hits us all once a year...yuck!

Whacha Doin Sis?

Normally the kids take a bath together, but Zachary usually annoys Kenna after about 10 minutes. So I get him out, dressed, lotioned up while Kenna plays.

He usually ends up back in there seeing what sis is up to :)

Sleeping Beauty RIP

Josh was working downstairs, and Kenna was playing with all her dolls down there with him. I was working upstairs in the office when the saddest little sob comes walking up the stairs. Kenna peaks her head around the corner and looks at me with the saddest face I have ever seen.

"Mommy.......I was trying to take off sweeping beauty's dress, and I pulled too hard and her head came off. Daddy can't fix it, will you make it better?"

After digging out the needle nose pliers, superglue, tweezers....I was unsuccessful. I tried the distraction tactic and sent her downstairs, saying I needed some time to fix it. She would come up every few minutes to "check on her." Finally I told her that I didn't think I could fix her.

She started to quietly sob, it almost broke my heart. Then she said "but mommy, I love her!" So, I shed a few tears and promised her that in the morning we would go out and buy a brand new sleeping beauty. Normally we do not replace toys that are broken - but this was a special case. Sleeping beauty is her favorite!

--this is the scene I came down to in the morning. Kenna said all the princesses were "really worried about her"--

Needless to say, we have a new sleeping beauty, may the old one rest in peace :)

Slow Blogging Season

I know that I have not been posting much lately...but that's really because we haven't been up to much beyond everyday life, eat, sleep, Kindermusik, dance, babysitter, work, play, bath, bed time.

A few fun things:

Josh has been working on making our home theater system AMAZING. We are ditching cable and hooking up a mac mini as our main home theater component. He found an application online called Plex. It will store all your movies, music, and photos, and stream Hulu and Netflix right from your internet connection. So we never have to use a DVD again. It also has a really cool user interface that is compatible with his iphone or our harmony remote.....too cool!

Today we went to visit Grandma Great for lunch. She is staying in an assisted living facility that is really nice. I think she likes having people to talk to and lots to do!

Zachary is all over the place. He is saying things like "DA!" for Doggie and Daddy. He says "Mamamamama" not sure if he is referring to me, but too cute. He is also crawling and pulling himself up...starting to cruise and showing signs of walking in the next few months!

Winter Wonderland

This has been the month of crappy weather. It started in late december when we had a 14" blizzard with blowing snow. Then we had a similar blizzard early in January, and finally we had freezing rain the last week....what a mess! Makes me want to vacation during these months going forward!

Very pretty....but Rylee was not a fan! She pooped right on the sidewalk!

--this is AFTER the big melt!--

--the roundabout in our cul-de-sac is where all the snow from the plows ends up, the kids in the neighborhood love it!--

--this is from this week...ucky freezing rain!--

--poor Walley (named by Kenna.) He has been buried for over a month--

--our apple tree is shiney--

--look how thick the ice is on the plant!--

Not a Baby Anymore

I was looking at Zachary the other day and realized...he isn't a baby anymore :( He is acting more and more like an independent toddler, and less and less like my little dependent baby!

--none of that mashed up food anymore, he eats whole bananas--

--pulling himself up, I bet he walks in the next month or so--

--plays interactively with Kenna now, rather than just watching her--

--I know that Rylee loves the fact that he feeds himself...she does a great job of "cleaning up"--

The Lost Bunny?

Sometimes when I pick the kids up Kenna wants to listen to "dat kids CD." Last night I got home and realized that I forgot Zachary's diaper bag - normally not a big deal. But, he has had the drippiest nose, and his aspirator was in the bag....yuck. After dinner I loaded the kids back in the car went back to Eskis and got the bag.

On the way home, Kenna was singing along with a song.

My Bonnie lies over the ocean
My Bonnie lies over the sea
My Bonnie lies over the ocean
Oh bring back my Bonnie to me

Bring back
Bring back
Oh bring back my Bonnie to me

We all know this song, and she stumbled a little. After it was over she said "mommy, that song is sad." I asked her why? "Cause that boy lost his bunny in the water."

I tried not to laugh, but how cute is that!?!

Daddy's Funny!

Lots of Giggles!

First Kisses

Zachary is quite affectionate! He loves to snuggle and has recently started giving kisses and hugs...SOOO cute!

--Mommy says, "Can I have a kiss?"

--slobbery best kisses ever!--

Christmas at Gramma Rue's

This year we spent Christmas at Gramma and Grampa Rue's house. We were a little worried that the weather was not going to cooperate. They were recommending to stay off the roads because of freezing rain and blowing snow (awesome!) but we journeyed to the airport anyway. We left Christmas morning and came back on New Year's Day. The trip was fairly uneventful without any delays or problems! We left the house early and the kids cooperated. We played games and ate snacks on the airplane, and the kids did great! Zachary took a nap after takeoff, and Kenna colored and played with her dolls. Then we had a 2 hour layover in Denver. We got some lunch, and let the kids play (including letting down my germ guard and allowing Zachary to crawl on the floor....ick!) The plan ride to Pasco was equally uneventful and we got there on time.

--Kenna would wander about 20 feet ahead of us before she would turn around and make sure we were still there in the airport...miss independence!--

Gramma Rue and Chelsey came to pick us up. We loaded up all the bags, toys, carseats, strollers, etc....man we had to pack half our house! We arrived at their house had a big dinner and opened presents!

--it went by so quickly! Kids got lots of toys and clothes!--

--kenna opening a gift--

--one of the biggest hits was the puppet show, it was so big we had to ship it home! pretty sure the shipping was more than the cost of the gift, but it was a hit grampa rue!--

--she LOVED it!--

--Tim, Trish, Anna, Andrew, and Gramma Rue opening gifts--

--went to the Country Club for lunch on Saturday--

--we were the only ones there :) --

--zachary loved playing with a spoon and napkin--

--kenna drinking her juice (they were out of milk? How is that possible?) --

--Andrew was chilly at the restaurant--

--Aunt Chelsey--

--Aunt Chelsey is minoring in Music, she played for us while we were there--

--kids loved listening--

--I got the kids matching jammies for Christmas, here are Kenna and Andrew posing--

--I think I envisioned all the kids posing quietly for a picture...a 4, 3, 1, and 9 month old...yeah right!--

--we did get some cute shots though!--

Most nights we played games, snacked on too many sweets, and just chatted. One morning I went and visited my friend Maren and her family. Her little girl, Jocelyn, is about 6 months older than Kenna, and Deric is 7. The girls played well together (although sharing is becoming increasingly painful ;) and Maren and I had a chance to catch up!

--playing princess divas--

--Deric showing me his Wii skills--

--trying on her tu tu (that aunt chelsey made) and her jewelry to match--

It seemed like the trip flew by. The kids stayed on Iowa time, so they were in bed by 6ish each night there. Gave us lots of time to hang out with Brandon, Chelsey, Tim and Trish. We couldn't have asked for a better Christmas! We had safe travels home as well (just barely making our last plane!) We literally were those people running with our kids to make the gate. They opened it back up for us. The plane in pasco took an extra hour to de-ice. But, we made it home safely. So good to all be together for Christmas!

Working in Turkey

I had the opportunity to apply for a temporary position working with the HR specialists in Turkey. We recently opened our first store there and have 2-3 more on the books for Fiscal 2011. I went through the application process, very worried that I was under qualified for the position. I would be making 3-4 two week trips over there in the next 6 months.

I made it through to the last rounds of interviews. I spoke to the director of international HR for at least 45 minutes. After we got off the phone I had kind of an icky feeling. The reason they wanted someone to go over there was to clean house. Apparently the turkey team is not doing things as they should and they needed someone with experience to go over and start holding the team accountable.

I knew I could it, but was not nearly as excited as I had been in the beginning. I got the phone call the next day that let me know they chose another candidate. While I was a little disappointed, I think it is probably best. They did ask if I was interested in other international opportunities. I told them I was as long as the work was temporary and that I didn't have to spend too much time away from my family. Pretty cool company I work for!!

Car Ride Home

One of the best moments of my day is when I walk downstairs at Eski's house and pick up the kids. Zachary is at the age where he sees me and crawls as fast as he can to my feet, then throws his arms in the air in his attempt to say "pick me up!" Kenna always screams "Mooooommmmmy!!!!" runs to me and gives me a HUGE hug. I love it!

However, I hate the event of putting the kids in the car. We recently bought McKenna new carseats (two, one for each car) therby handing down her old ones to Zachary. So Josh turned them rear facing, and the act of getting the kids upstairs, getting boots on, coats zipped, hats and mittens on, carrying the diaper bag, Kenna's "projix", and my 20lb boy, opening the inner door, then the outer door, then closing both doors, making sure kenna doesn't slip on the ice, or freak out because it is so cold, buckle Zachary in, cover him up with a blanket, buckle kenna in, cover her with a blanket, get in the car, start the kids music, deep breath....

Then my favorite part resumes. Kenna starts talking about her day and doesn't stop for the 10-15 minutes it takes to get home :)

Yesterday was especially funny:

Kenna -Mommy, today Zachary had a blow out (when he poops up his back....the result of him having no butt to block said poop.) It squished out on Eski's rug. So Eski took it upstairs and brought down a new rug. Cause I don't like poop."

Kenna - "And then for lunch we had those round things...what are they called mommy?"
Mommy - "um...grapes? corn dogs?"
Kenna - "Nooooooo....not that"
Mommy - "well, what color are they?"
Kenna - "lellow. And they are hot, you know those things mommy?"
Mommy - "tator tots?"
Kenna - "YEEAAHHH!! Taber tots with cat-sup. I love em, we ate all of them, and then I was full."
Mommy - "did you know they are made from potatoes?"
Kenna - "No mommy, eski got them in her oven."

Pretty Cake

My boss has been undergoing chemo for exactly one year. To celebrate his new cancer-free status, I decided to make him a very fancy chocolate cake!

A couple years ago my brother got me this chocolate cookbook, and I haven't really been brave enough to attempt anything - but this turned out great! I still like my buttermilk brownies better...but this was very pretty!

--Chocolate fudge pecan cake with chocolate "ribbons"--

We gave the leftovers to Eski, and from the sounds of it, they loved it!

Christmas Eve

Since we were heading to Grandma Rue's on Christmas day we let Santa know that we were celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve. Kenna was so excited putting out cookies for him.
She could barely go to bed. In the morning she woke up before we did and said, "mommy, did santa come?" I had to hurry downstairs to take her picture!

--santa brought her a princess castle, puzzle, snow white movie and crayons--

--Zachary got diapers, a stuffed otter and a fun elephant toy--

--kenna loved helping her brother open his presents too!--

I started a new tradition this year. We are going to start the morning with home made monkey bread, then open presents. It was nice to have a mellow family christmas at home. Josh got me a new camera and a gps. I also got jewelry. Josh got a new coat, electronic rubix cube and a noodle attachment for my mixer...I know it is a kitchen gadget, but the noodles are for him :)