...Home again, home again, jiggety jig!

My parents brought the kids home Thursday night/Friday morning when I was done with my work stretch. We were so excited to see them! Grandpa and Grandma had to head right back home on Friday, so we went out to lunch before they left.
Mmmm... Mongolian BBQ!

Walt and Rachel came through on their way home from vacation and stayed a couple of days.
Next time, guys, we'll have to hijack your car so you're stuck here for the whole two weeks. (No, that wasn't us that messed up your tire when you left. Sure wish I would have thought of it though! hee hee, just kidding.) Glad you had a fun time in Minnesota!
(Luke and Emily)

I figured out that, with enough water, I can get Kaitlyn's hair to lay down for a minute or two (that is, until it starts to dry, then it's as crazy as ever). Gotta love it!

(Some Sunday pictures of the kids)

Talon hangin' out and eating his "nacks"

Papa and the kids

Update on Anthony's back

Anthony went to a different Chiropractor yesterday. He's great, and Anthony really likes him. Dr Klena is pretty positive that he has a herniated disc, but wants him to get an MRI to make sure they are treating him properly. Anthony came home yesterday and actually felt a little better (unlike the last guy he saw- he came home and could hardly move for 2-3 days!). He has him doing some strengthening exercises a few times a day, and Anthony's mobility has increased. He is able to sit upright for longer and longer periods of time (he was getting a bit tired of the 'flat in bed' routine!). Dr Klena said it would probably still be 6-7 weeks before he is completely back to normal, but at least we're headed in the right direction!

@> @> @> @> @> @> @> @> @>

We are very excited, my parents are bringing the kids home tomorrow night! They have been doing very well, and having a great time. Kaitlyn is over her little 'bug' and being such a big girl for her first extended stay at Grandma and Grandpa's! How I miss them when they're gone!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Random pictures of the kids

These are just a few random pictures I've taken of the kids recently.

Mmmm... popcorn and milk!
happy girl!
fun at the park

story time

some serious bed hair!
This is still Kaitlyn's preferred method of getting around. She's pretty fast, and she seems so nonchalant about it. Crazy girl!

Back trouble

Life's felt a little disjointed the past couple of weeks. Anthony's back went out two weeks ago, so he's been pretty much out of commission and flat in bed. He's been to the chiropractor twice (and what an experience that was!) so we kinda expected to see a little more improvement by now. We're gonna try to get him in to see a different chiropractor tomorrow, and hopefully this one will prescribe some muscle relaxors and start things moving a little faster in the right direction. Anthony can't lift the kids or take care of them, obviously, so I had to take a couple of days off of work this past week. Unfortunately, I can't keep taking off work until he gets better, and his parents have felt a bit under the weather, so on Saturday my parents drove to Idaho to pick up the kids so they could watch them for a few days for us. It's really nice for my parents and family to get to spend the time with them, but I sure miss them like crazy!!

Kaitlyn started to get sick on Friday night/Saturday morning with a fever so I went back and forth about letting her go. I called the doctor's office and they insisted they probably wouldn't need to see her unless she had a high fever for over 72 hours and wasn't eating or taking fluids, or was getting really dehydrated. She did seem to perk up a bit in the afternoon, and Anthony reminded me that my mom did have six kids and had probably taken care of a sick one before, so I tried to relax and sent them on their way.

My mom called and said they made it about half way there, and Kaitlyn started throwing up and was running a really high fever, and wasn't keeping anything down.

>>>Horrible guilt sets in!! "What an awful mother I am!!"<<<

I talked to my mom a couple more times last night, then again this evening. Kaitlyn had a rough night, but seemed to be doing better after her nap this afternoon. She was finally starting to keep fluids down and was less fussy and more alert. Talon, of course, is having the time of his life! 'Bampa' is his personal playmate, and heaven forbid he should go outside or dare to do anything without taking Talon along! My parents will be bringing the kids back home on either Thursday or Friday this week after my work stretch is over. I can't wait for life to get back to normal, I'll tell you that!

9 months old!

It's hard to believe how fast Kaitlyn's growing, and that she's already nine months old! She cut her first tooth last week, and is that thing ever sharp!

She keeps threatening to crawl, but gets lazy and rolls over on her back and starts scooting. She loves to pull herself up and stand for long periods of time. I put her up to the hearth today, and she stood and played and looked at her reflection in the fireplace. My mom says I never crawled, and Kaitlyn may be the same way. She may just take off walking one of these days! Believe me, I am NOT in a hurry for that!
She says "Papa" now, it's pretty cute. Daddy's still trying to get her to say "Dada". She's at such a fun age- she seems to figure out new things all the time.

(This is the face she makes when you tell her "no", or when she really doesn't like something)

Yeah, Bubby's home!

My parents brought Talon home Friday night/early Saturday morning. They had to turn around and head right back home on Saturday, but it was nice to get to spend a few hours with them and my sisters before they had to leave. We played a little Mario Kart on the Wii (Yes, I stink at it and my dad beat me pretty good. We won't even talk about my competition with Mikayla!). I know they miss Talon like crazy, but it sure is nice to have him home!

These are a few pictures my mom and sister took while Talon was staying with them. He had a lot of fun helping Aunt Melanie wash her car. He also jumped right in and "helped" Grandpa fix his riding lawn mower. This kid loves to be involved in EVERYTHING!

Wordless Wednesday

(Thanks for the caption idea, Heather, I had to incorporate it into my blog!)

Missing Bubby

Talon stayed in Oregon for a few extra days so he could spend time with my family. My parents are bringing him home on Friday and I'm very excited! We are really missing him! I think Kaitlyn kinda likes the extra attention she's getting right now, though.
He seems to be having a great time. I talk to him everyday, and yesterday we got on the web cam and chatted for a while. It made me teary when he reached out his arms to give me a big hug! He's spending lots of time playing outside and following Bampa around. My mom's promised me pictures and I can't wait to see them. I hear he's been helping Grandma water the plants (and the lawn, and the house, and the riding lawn-mower...), and he's learning all about fixing things with Grandpa's REAL tools. He's definitely all 'boy' and doesn't mind getting a bit dirty.

We miss you, Bubby, and we love you lots!! -Mommy, Daddy, and Sissy (Kiki and Kallie, too!!)

The beach

While we were in Oregon, Anthony and I made a quick trip to the beach. We left the kids with my parents and stayed the night in Lincoln City. It was very 'last minute'. We decided at about 1pm that it would be fun, and by about 1:30 we were on the road. We had a few places to stop, and we took the scenic route; but we got there in time to get settled, then walk on the beach and see the beautiful sunset. It was FREEZING! Quite a nice change from the 100+ degree we were experiencing in the Portland area, but I didn't even take anything warm to wear. We had one small, thin fleece blanket in the back of the car that I bundled up in. We tried getting our feet in the water, and Anthony tried to get me out a little deeper. NO WAY!!

During the day, it was about 70 degrees and sunny. Perfect weather to be enjoying the beach. We did a little shopping, then headed home. We had a great, relaxing time!

This was so funny, I had to take a picture! We went out for brunch, and at the restaurant we saw a truck that had newspapers taped to the windshield for a sun visor. They were from Texas. Yeah, they're probably just not used to seeing sun there! ;)

The laundry basket

Just a couple more miscellaneous pictures at my parents house. Of course, every kid has to have some laundry basket pictures. As you can see, they were both having a lot of fun!

New wheels

Kaitlyn seemed really fascinated by Talon's musical scooter, so I put her on it. She clearly wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with it, but it was pretty cute.