Little Dipper

The past few months, Kaitlyn has turned into a rather finicky eater. Sometimes I'm just baffled that she keeps growing, because she eats like a bird... and usually what little amount is gone from her plate, she's wearing on her face and hands!

We went out for Mexican food, and I ordered her a cheese quesadilla. She usually takes a couple of bites, eats a few chips and is done. She never touches the beans and rice. This day, however, she decided she liked to use the beans as dip for her chips... and ate almost all of them. I was so excited (it doesn't take much, I know!). I have tried to give her refried beans and cheese many times, and she always spits them out or paints her tray with them.

I thought I should take a picture and document this momentous occasion!

Kaitlyn- 19 months

Hard to believe my little girl is already 19 months old! She has such personality. Her mood can change drastically within minutes. She can go from laughing and smiling, to irritated and moody, then right back to cheery and happy. So crazy! She's doing so many fun things and talks constantly... often stringing full sentences together. She loves to sing and will mimic just about anything she hears.

This particular day in the car, she was so happy and playful. I happened to have the camera up front with me, so I started snapping pictures. She's kinda like her dad in that she likes to hide from the camera and be uncooperative at times. Not this day... she was hammin' it up!

Playing Peek-a-Boo. She puts her hand up to her eyes, and while peering through her fingers, asks "Where's Sissy?".

Her "I'm not going to smile right now" face.

Doing hand motions while she's singing.

Clapping and singing at the top of her lungs.

Just being her so-stinkin'-cute little self!

Happy Father's Day!

I wanted to barbecue today to celebrate Father's Day, but the weather was kinda crummy and I was rather exhausted after work this morning, so we opted for taking Daddy out to dinner after church. Chad and Tori came over for a while, and the guys played guitars and had coffee in the afternoon. After family nap time, I did fire up the BBQ and grill the steaks and we had pumpkin spice lattes in the evening. We had a nice, relaxing day!

(These are just a couple of the pictures that I took of the kids with Daddy at dinner)

I am so thankful for such a loving husband. One who takes his role seriously as spiritual leader in our home, and is such a wonderful father to our children!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy...
We love you!!!

Talon Moment

Anthony's been on a diet, so the conversation around our house often revolves around food and how much weight he's lost. Talon and Kaitlyn both think it's pretty neat to stand on the scales like Daddy. Talon came running into the kitchen while I was making breakfast this morning...

Talon: "Mommy, I lost 3 pounds!"

Me: "Wow, you lost 3 pounds?"

Talon: "Yeah, and Daddy weighs 2.2 pounds!"

Me: "That much, huh?!"

Talon: "Yeah, 2.2!"

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Last night we went to Costco to pick up a couple of things and the kids were sitting in the front of the cart. Anthony handed Talon the bag of protein powder to hold, Talon takes it and says, "No carbs, Daddy!".

Check-up time!

We took the kids to the doctor for their check-ups. Talon was so excited to get to see "Dr. Baker". We told Dr. Kilty about the Curious George books and Talon calling him "Dr. Baker"... he thought it was hilarious. He told Anthony that if he came in next time with a big yellow hat, that he would give him a sticker. Hmmm... I guess I better start the hunt for a yellow hat! :)
Talon did really good with his check-up. We went into a room where he got his blood pressure taken and had an eye exam. He so matter-of-factly named off all the shapes and pictures he saw on the wall with one eye covered. If he made a mistake, he was quick to correct himself. "That's an apple. Uh, no... that's a circle!". When Dr. Kilty asked about potty training, he asked Talon if he sometimes goes potty on the big potty. Talon was very quick to say, "Yeah, I'm a big boy. I not go potty in my pants!". Dr. Kilty thought it was so funny when he followed that up by saying, "I go poppers on the toilet!".
Kaitlyn did really good too, but was a little more shy. She was really talkative, though, when the exam was over and was left to play and read books.
When it came time for shots, it was a rough experience. Talon screamed with his one shot, while poor Sissy had to get four.
Hard to believe they are growing so fast!
Talon now weighs 32 pounds and is 37 1/4 inches tall, and is in the 50th percentile! Dr. Kilty was impressed seeing that he's always been around the 10-20th percentile. He definitely has hit a growth spurt over the past few months!
Kaitlyn weighs 23 lbs. 4 oz. and is 31 1/4 inches tall. She is somewhere around the 40th percentile.
Thank God for healthy kids!

Wordless Wednesday

Fun at the playground

The weather finally cleared up, and my parents have a playground next to their house, so we took the kids over there to play. They had a blast! Kaitlyn went down the slide all by herself and wasn't scared at all! As soon as she got to the bottom, she'd try to climb right back up. She's such a little monkey and isn't scared of anything. Talon had a blast playing basketball with Grandpa. The swings were a big hit as well. What a fun day!

Talon Moment

This conversation took place while Talon was eating his snack last night before bed...

Talon: "Mommy, I'm Gowiaf!"
Me: "Goliath? Wow, you seem a bit short to be Goliath!"

(I walked out of the room to put something away, then came back in)

Talon: "Mommy, I'm Dabid."
Me: "David? Yeah, that's probably a little more like it!"
Talon: "Yeah, I'm Dabid... like in the book!"

It's a BOY!!!

We had our ultrasound today and found out we are having a BOY!!
Everything looks great and we are very excited.
He wasn't very cooperative for pictures (guess he's a little camera shy like his Daddy), but here is one of the profile pictures.

Thanks to all who participated in the poll. Out of 24 votes between the blog and Facebook, 71% guessed boy. We had a pretty strong feeling it would be a boy, but it was fun to see what everyone else thought.

Party time!

On Saturday, we celebrated Talon's birthday. As you might guess from the pictures, he had a 'Thomas the Train' party. My mom made the cake, and did a fabulous job, as always. Talon loved his "Thomas Cake". He'd stand and stare at it for a long time, run and play, then come back and stare at it some more. When we started taking pictures, I noticed that his teeth were all red. I looked at the side of the cake, and found that he had been sampling the frosting. After he blew out the candles, I cut him a piece of cake, and he got really upset. After wading through puddles of tears, we finally figured out what was wrong...
he got to play in the cake at his 1st birthday, then Sissy got to play in the cake at her birthday, so he thought he was going to get to play in the cake. We put him in his seat, gave him his piece of cake and one of the Thomas characters, and told him he could make as big of a mess as he wanted... and he did!

He got tons of fun toys and gifts, and loved playing outside with his cousins in the beautiful weather.

Thank you to everyone that came and helped make Talon's 3rd birthday so special!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Talon!

Yes, our little boy turned 3 today. Hard to believe! We had a big party yesterday and celebrated with family (I'll post pictures soon).

I took this picture of him this morning as we were running out the door to church. He looks like such a little man in his suit and tie!

Happy Birthday, Bubby...

We love you!!!

Daddy, Mommy, and Sissy

Wordless Wednesday

(Contributed by Daddy)

New blanket/hat

Anthony's aunt came to visit for about a month, and stayed with Papa and Granny. While she was here, she made the kids frog blankets. The frog head is a pouch so they can wear it on their head like a hat. Talon likes to come wake me up in the morning with his "froggie hat" on and the blanket dragging behind him.

And speaking of 'hats'...
I was folding laundry one evening, and Talon was having fun running around the house with a pair of underwear on his head like a hat. Kaitlyn joined in the fun too, but wouldn't stand in one place long enough for me to take a picture of her. It was pretty hilarious!

Talon's Birthday Surprise (early)

Talon turns three in just a few days, and since he's gonna have a party, we decided to give him his gift from us a few days early, and make a day of it. We started out by going to a "resta-want" for lunch because he loves the experience of going out to eat. Next, we headed to Portland Music Company. Daddy went in and got all the details sorted out, then the kids and I went in. Talon was in awe over all the guitars and musical instruments he saw everywhere.

Daddy handed him the Martin LX1 3/4 size guitar, and we told him it was his birthday present. He just kinda stood there and looked at us. We told him it was his own guitar and that he gets to take it home. He got a big smile on his face and started playing it. I don't think he really comprehended the fact that it was his until we put the guitar and stand in the back of the car and headed home. He then started saying, "That's my guitar? That's my new guitar?".

One of the main reasons we chose to get Talon a guitar for his birthday, is because his old one is falling apart. He's played it so much, the neck is actually coming apart. Papa drilled a bunch of bolts into it to hold it together, but we knew it wouldn't last too much longer.
He's always been possessive over his guitar, so Kaitlyn never gets to play it. She has her eye on it constantly, though! We told Talon that since he now has a new guitar, that Sissy gets his old one. He was fine with that... so was she!! The first time she got to play it, she had the look on her face like she was really getting away with something. She loves that thing! She has to use a pick when she plays it just like Daddy and Bubby. Daddy got some picks for her so she would have her very own.
It's quite the riot when Daddy and both kids get their guitars out and start playing.

(Playing and singing "Jesus Loves Me".)

Boy or Girl?

Just for fun, we're taking a poll and we've posted it to the side bar on the right.

"Will Baby Starr be a boy or a girl?"

We would like to know what your guess is. We have our ultrasound next Monday, June 7th, so the poll will close that day at noon. I will post the answer that day... or as soon as I possibly can.

{Note: For those viewing on facebook, you have to actually click on the blog site to participate}

Bathtime antics

Yesterday, the kids were in the bathtub and Anthony was keeping an eye on them while I was taking a shower. As soon as I got done, Anthony came and asked me to join him in the main bathroom where the kids were, and tell him what I saw on the side of the tub. When I walked in, I saw a large puddle of yellow liquid, and the floor was all wet. Anthony proceeded to tell me what happened...

The kids were splashing around making noise, and when he walked in, he saw the yellow puddle on the side of the tub. He asked Talon what it was. Talon stated, "I not go potty in the bathtub!". Anthony was sure it couldn't have been the dogs, and knowing it couldn't possibly be Kaitlyn, he asked again. Talon very emphatically said he "did not go potty in the bathtub!". Anthony then pointed to the puddle on the side of the tub and asked, "Well, who did that?".

Talon let out a big, exasperated sign and very sheepishly said, "Talon".

I've told him that, under no circumstances, is he to go potty in the bathtub. So, he didn't. He stood up and went outside the bathtub all over the floor!

As soon as I got it all cleaned up, and we were out of sight and earshot, Anthony and I had a good laugh about it. I think I found it slightly more amusing than he did, but I think he was still a bit awed by the whole thing.

Today, when I put them in the bath, I made sure to include that we don't go potty outside of the bathtub either... we only go potty in the toilet.

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I put the kids in the tub the other day, then went to put some clothes away in their closets. I heard some splashing, so I peeked my head in and told them not to splash because I didn't want water all over the floor. When I went back in a couple of minutes later, I saw the mess they had made... there was water everywhere! Talon's gotten in the habit of blaming things on his sister, so I expected this time to be no exception. I showed him the puddle on the floor and said, "Look at the mess you made. You got water all over the floor!". He looked at the floor, then back at me. He got a perplexed look on his face, and said, "Now why did I do that?".

Wow, that was a reply I didn't expect. I want him to take me seriously and know that I don't think it's funny, but it's times like these that I have a really hard time keeping a straight face!

Talon Moment

Talon: "Mommy, my eye hurts."
Me: "Your eye hurts? Why does your eye hurt?"
Talon: "I got contacts in it. My contacts hurt!"
Me: "Do you think you're gonna be okay?"
Talon: (Running off to play) "Yeah, it feels better now."

Eye Infection

Friday morning, Kaitlyn woke up with a swollen right eye and it was a bit runny. We kept an eye on it (no pun intended, just couldn't think of a better way to put it), and it actually started looking better as the day went on... until after her nap. When she woke up from her nap, her bottom eyelid was almost purple, her eye was red, and almost swollen shut. My first thought was, "Fabulous... pink eye! It figures this had to happen on Friday night." Thankfully, the doctors' office has night and weekend hours and they told us they could see us if we came in immediately. We ran out the door (leaving a very sad Talon behind)**, and raced to the doctor's office (probably could have used a boat... it was POURING down rain!). The doctor thought she either scratched her eye or was bit by something. Either way, she was diagnosed with periorbital cellulitis, was prescribed oral antibiotics and eye drops, and we were on our way. Next stop... Fred Meyer pharmacy. We spent longer waiting for the prescriptions than we did at the entire doctor appointment. Oh well, at least we got it taken care of so we didn't have to spend hours in the Emergency Room! We then headed home, picked up Daddy and Talon, and headed for an ice cream cone. Yum... that made everything better!

I didn't actually take a picture of it (very unusual for me, I know), but after only the 2nd dose of antibiotics and eye drops, Kaitlyn's eye looks great. (Of course, now we're having to deal with the GI side effects of antibiotics. I've had to completely strip her bed and wash all the blankets for the 2nd day in a row. Good times!)

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**(Talon loves his Curious George books. In Curious George Goes to the Hospital, George goes to see Doctor Baker. Talon was convinced that Sissy was going to get to see Doctor Baker and he wasn't, and this made him very upset. I then promised him if he was a good boy while we were gone, we would go get an ice cream cone. He reluctantly agreed, but asked to go 'bye-bye' a few dozen more times before we actually left.)

Wordless Wednesday

Forget the mug...

Enjoying the weather

The weather has been beautiful the past few days... almost 80* at times! I've had to work and haven't really gotten to enjoy much of it, but the kids have loved getting to play outside. We had family night outside tonight after dinner. The kids and dogs got to burn off a little of their energy... and wore me out! We had a lot of fun.

Talon was having a blast just running through the dry grass.

It's always fun to sit and pick at the grass!

Kaitlyn is really into counting (well, up to 'three' anyway!). Every time I go to take a picture, I say "One, ..."
and she finishes "... two, treeeee!". It's adorable.
I snapped this one on "two".

Daddy took this one... I have no idea what he's doing.
Just happy to be outside, I guess!

Such a big girl in her own lawn chair.

Around the house

(Just a few random pics of the kids around the house this week)

Kaitlyn loves trying to wear other peoples' shoes. Lately, she's been wearing my flip-flops around the house. It's pretty funny because they are so hard to keep on, she ends up using them like skis.
(She wasn't very happy when I asked her to stand still for a second so I could take a picture.)

Talon sitting on the couch holding his doggie.

Yet another picture of Sissy feeding herself.
(Daddy isn't quite as concerned about getting her hair out of her face when she eats.)

Wordless Wednesday

Mother's Day Roses

These are the roses I got for Mother's Day. They were accompanied by a 4 pound tub of Red Vines licorice. Does my sweet husband know me or what?

We barbecued shishkabobs, and had a nice relaxing day enjoying the gorgeous weather.
So blessed to have such a wonderful husband and sweet, adorable kids!

A few thoughts on Mother's Day...

Since it's Mother's Day, I thought I would share a few things that I've learned in the short time I've been a mother:

Sleep is not a necessity, it's a privilege. If you look at it as such, it doesn't seem quite as bad when you don't get it.
Raisins and cheese go hand in hand. Probably shouldn't feed your child too much of one without the other.
Never buy just one package of colored socks. Always buy at least two. That way, when the dryer eats one, it has two to go before you have to finally throw the last one away.
Pull-Ups were never meant to hold as much fluid as a diaper... especially at night. Don't let the fact that you pay twice as much for half of the amount fool you into thinking so.
A child's hair never looks good for more than 3 or 4 minutes... especially if you spent any time at all fixing it.
For special occasions, buy a really nice gift for yourself and give the box and wrapping to your child. That way you both get something great out of it.
Look both ways before you cross the kitchen. It's the funnest place to drag toys while mom's cooking dinner.
When you dish up your child's food, go ahead and just throw half of it in the garbage... that's where it's gonna end up anyway.
Any word you say can, and will be used against you.
You can never have enough bibs.
When you clean the glass doors, only clean from about the waist up... after the first day it will look like that's all you did anyway.
There is no such thing as getting the laundry done.
"Because" is never enough of an answer to a "why" question.
Your child will injure themselves somewhere on his/her face when you finally get the picture appointment scheduled.
If you ever want your child to eat or drink, just go put them in bed. Suddenly, they are starving and dying of thirst.
There's no such thing as a 'spill proof' sippy cup... especially when the kids are dressed up or wearing white!
A Costco size box of OxyClean needs to be figured into the budget every month.
Children have a different palate when at their grandparents' or other peoples' house. They will eat anything put in front of them after you just got done saying how picky they are.
They can only program so many songs into one little toy. After about two hours of play, you will want to take out the batteries or make the entire toy disappear.
There's never a best time to give your child a bath... they will wait to have a "blow-out" until they are freshly bathed with clean clothes on.
The restroom is never a place of 'rest'. It's a place to congregate and play while mom's using it.
Grandparents are the only ones that think your child's temper tantrum is cute and acceptable.
It's only fun to play with the ball in the room with all the breakables.
It's a lot of fun to put things in the garbage can. You should probably check its contents a couple of times a day... it's amazing the stuff that can go missing.
Leave time for bedtime stories.
Teach "please" and "thank you" at a very early age.
Dogs work great as vacuums around the high chair.
Sometimes you really don't want to know what happened.
Every child, at some point, will use their finger and try to explore the two little holes in the middle of their face.
A hug and "I love you, Mommy" can make even the worst day better.
I now know what it would look like if a tornado struck Toys R Us... I get a visual of it at least once a day in my living room.
It's okay if they stay up past their bedtime once in a while.
If you ever looked at another child and said, "If that were my child...", you will get the opportunity to show what you would do.
Falling on the pavement, scraping their hands and knees, and just about cracking their head open never hurts as bad as popping their only balloon.
Make lots of time to "nuggle".
Toilet paper never looks quite the same when you've had to re-roll it.
They learn amazingly young how to blame their sibling for something that happened.
Get on the floor and play at their level.
It's okay for kids to play in the dirt. But if you have young animals, and they bring you dirt they found in the house... it's probably not dirt.
Take lots of pictures.
Sometimes you just have to laugh. It's either that, or break out in tears.
If you give them a cup in the bathtub, they will try at least once to make a lake on your bathroom floor.
When they have sticky hands, you have two options: Clean them up immediately, or clean their hands and wash their hair.
Sometimes they fall asleep without getting their teeth brushed. It's not going to kill them.
If you have to bring their car seat in the house for some reason, they will gladly sit in it all day and play with their toys. If you decide to stick it in the car so you can go somewhere, they suddenly hate it and want out.
Never say we "might" go get ice cream. They just heard "Let's go get ice cream!".
Sing lots of songs and don't be afraid to act silly.
Tell them you love them often throughout the day.
Don't give them bubbles in the house unless you are prepared to mop the floor.

After experiencing some of their antics and idiosyncrasies just in the short time that we've had kids, I can truly say that I LOVE being a mom, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. My children are a gift from God and such a blessing. As I look back on some of the things that they've done, I just have to laugh.
It does make me even more appreciative of my own mom. Just with some of the stories she tells, I can only pray that my children don't try half of the stuff my siblings and I did.

Hope you all have a very
Happy Mother's Day!

Yeah... 6 years!!

On Saturday, May 8, 2004...
6 years ago today...
Anthony and I began our wonderful life together.

Happy Anniversary, Baby!
I love you!!!

Happy Nurses Day 2010!!

This week is National Nurses Week, but today is National Nurses Day.

At times, being a nurse feels like a thankless job, but it also can be the most rewarding job. You see people on their worst days, but also on their best. You observe life as it begins and as it ends. You step into peoples' lives for a brief time, and have the opportunity to make a difference- no matter how big or how small it may be.
I appreciate all the nurses that I have had the privilege of working with over the past 8 years. They are some of the most caring, thoughtful, and selfless people that I know.
Happy Nurses Day 2010!

Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom!

On Saturday, May 1st, my parents celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary.

Congratulations Dad and Mom...
We love you!!