Hurray for Good Weather!!!

When we were in Palm Springs we bought some flash cards with the alphabet and numbers on them. Kayda LOVES them! I was surprised by how many of the letters she knows! Speaking of knowing letters, she is starting to talk like crazy. It seems like she's trying several NEW words a day! She started talking a lot while we were in Palm Springs and now she is just going nuts! She is saying: green, pink, purple, yellow, red, brown, black, blue (she can recognize all these too), train, plane, bunny, deer, truck, one, two, tree, bird, duck, cat, dog, potty, hot, hat, hold, help, apple, room, bubble, bath, pool, swim, walk, up, please, more, tv, ball, sit, come, drink, water, cup, pop, ant, bug, open, bee, home, house, eat, food, no, yes, fish, chip, cracker, snack, go, stop, down, done, in, inside, outside... wow there are so many I really can't think them up all at once! I need to start a list and add to it every time she talks. She is stringing up to five words together. My favorite was when we came home from Palm Springs. Grandpa G picked us up at the airport and the whole way home she said "no home go pa house".
Speaking of accomplishments Dillon is starting to talk/make sound effects some now too! He says: bye, dada, ball, fish and he has a whole bunch of sounds that he makes that mean something but don't sound like the word just yet. He makes the sounds: vroom, woof, moo, baa, and grrr. He is trying to hop like big sister and is getting better and better at climbing up on things like the couch. It's hilarious when he wants out of the bath tub. Kayda can climb out so he tries. He basically gets one leg laying up on the edge of the tub and leans forward.  He DESPERATELY wants to do things on his own!

We borrowed a doggy door that fits into the sliding glass door and when Daddy was mowing the yard last week Dillon sat there with his head hanging out it to watch. He is FASCINATED by anything that makes noise, vaccuum, mower, weed whacker...anything loud.

It is so much fun watching them learn to do more things and seeing how excited they get when they realize they can do something new. It's kind of bittersweet though. They grow up WAY too fast!








A couple of weekends ago we went to the park with Grandpa G. The kids LOVED it. Kayda took off running as soon as I let her. She went straight to one of the climbing spots that she was too little for not so long ago. She did really well, Grandpa G helped her with it but she's so good at it now you don't even have to hold her anymore, you just stay close by. Of course whatever Kayda does Dillon wants to do too. He walked over to it but he's still little enough that his "climbing" is really Daddy moving him from bar to bar!






















































Both of the babies enjoyed the slides. Dillon went down with Daddy the first few times and then he started going down on his own. One of the things I like about this park is that there is the big play toy and then there is also a toddler sized one so he could climb around a little easier. Not that he stayed there, Kayda and Dillon both used ALL the toys pretty thoroughly!





























One of the things Dillon kept going back to were the rocking toys. There is a duck, a frog and a car. He enjoyed all three, he could even rock himself (only a tiny bit). Kayda figured out how to get on and off by herself fairly quickly and then went off to explore everything else.

She still likes the rock wall. She climbed up that with Grandpa G's help. She's starting to figure it out well enough that we just need to be there to catch her...just in case. She's getting so independent. Dillon wants to be independent but just isn't physically big enough just yet!

Grandma G went with us to the park another day, it was just the two of us and the kids so unfortunately we were both too busy to take pictures but once again the kids had a great time! Grandma got a small break from the constant trailing after one or the other of the kids when Dillon decided that he just wanted to sit and watch the big tractor drive around on the ball fields. I think we may be dragging Grandma G out a little more frequently since the weather is getting nicer, they're both too busy to take to the park alone. Then when summer comes we can alternate between both Grandmas. It's a wonderful thing having so much family close by!





Last weekend we finally decided to take on the project that is our front yard. We added several garden beds (I'll put pictures on once we have plants) so it actually looks like we care about our yard now. Not that Daddy didn't keep it maintained it was just BORING. So we were outside ALL day Saturday and Sunday. The kids thought it was just great. Kayda knows very well that she has to stay with us and Dillon is picking up on the whole "stay out of the street" and "stay where we can see you" ideas very quickly. We had 10 YARDS of dirt delivered on Sunday and spent the day filling our garden beds. Our little ones didn't go anywhere near the dirt pile... until two of our neighbor girls came over to play with them. The four kiddos played inside for a while but soon enough Kayda wanted to come back out which meant ALL of them came back outside. In no time at all the older neighbor girls had them all climbing on the dirt pile. They were very good with Dillon, holding his hand and helping him work his way up. Next thing we know they have created a "dirt slide". All of them, with the exception of Dillon, were sliding down the side of the pile. By the time Tazz and Kylie had to go home all of them had black bottoms, black feet and little bits of dirt just about EVERYWHERE. I felt like I needed to send a note home with the girls "You knew there was a pile of dirt in our driveway". I don't remember ever having a dirt slide but I certainly remember climbing the HUGE piles of bark my parents had delivered from time to time. It was one of our favorite play things, until we had to help move it. I'm glad that my kids have someone (our neighbor girls) to show them the fun, incredibly messy things they can do.

Swimming in Palm Springs

I had so many pictures that I wanted to share that I forgot about the videos! Here are some vidoes of the little ones swimming. Kayda made a ton of progress! She's holding her breath longer, and kicking better, she can glide about 5 feet now! She was even changing directions underwater. Dillon can push off things now and can hold his breath better, though he still isn't that ineterested in kicking or anything.

By the time we came home Saturday Kayda had decided that it was HER pool. She was standing on a step ladder by the back fence, she would point to the neighbor's pool and say "No" then point to our pool and say "Mine" She loved it down there. If only we could've gotten them to sleep well, then it would've been a perfect trip!

Palm Springs, the last days...

On Wednesday we got back to Palm Springs about an hour before the rest of the group arrived (Baba, Grandpa Mike, Nathan and Alec). As soon as they ate dinner, Nathan and Alec were in the water with Kayda following close behind! Dillon and Kayda loved having their cousin Nathan there, he plays with them at home so they were REALLY excited. Eventually they warmed up to Alec and had fun playing with him too!

That night Kayda got a hold of her toothbrush. She was wandering around the house with it, mostly hanging out with Alec and Nathan. Well after a while Nathan started looking for his toothbrush and couldn't find it.  We thought he had just forgotten to pack it. A little while later Nathan went into the linen closet to get a towel, well there sat Kayda and Nathan's toothbrushes neatly placed on a shelf with the towels. Kayda had stolen it and stashed it away with her own!

The next day all of the kids were back in the pool bright and early. I had to drag my kids back out after a while so they could have a break. They had just as much fun running around in a puddle alongside the pool as they had actually swimming!!! Fortunately this time Dillon didn't try to drink it again!

Nathan was really good with the kids. He showed Kayda how to "push" him in and that was all she wanted to do after that. She would push him in, he would climb out, she would push him in again and so on. Well there was one time that he didn't climb out again quite fast enough so she bent down and was going to help him out! I guess since Nathan has younger brothers and sisters he is used to entertaining little kids but he does really good with both of the kids and they ADORE their oldest cousin!



















While all the fun and games were going on there sat Grandma and Grandpa H. Grandma was reading, Grandpa was frying his stomach and talking on the phone. Yes, he was actually fried. That evening his stomach was RED!

Dillon and Kayda both thoroughly enjoyed popsicles while we were there. Dillon managed to turn his shirt and face bright red from his. He always made a funny face after eating some of the popsicle because it was cold. Kayda found a bike helmet down there and true to form stuck it on her head and had it buckled in no time at all.

We were in the pool several times a day. It was harder to get in on Thursday and Friday because even though it was sunny and beautiful it was WINDY!!! But we still went in.

Dillon figured out how to float around with the blow up rings and spent a LOT of time in it! He would push off the stairs to Daddy and he LOVED having his hands free to check everything out. He couldn't go far on his own because he hasn't figured out how to kick just yet.

We managed to get Grandpa into the pool for a little while, Dillon had a good time with him! Poor Grandpa, that has GOT to be uncomfortable!

Kayda was swimming too but she quickly figured out that the hot tub was always at least a little bit warmer than the pool and she didn't want to get out of it! Grandma liked that too so they hung out in there together.
Brave little Dillon would go anywhere with water, granted he's got more chub on him to keep him warm but he played in the pool with the boys!

Kayda discovered the water wings and started to blow them up herself so I stepped in and put them on her even though I'm not a fan she certainly was! It took her a little while to get comfortable but in no time at all she was back to swimming all around the hot tub with them.

Thursday evenings Palm Springs' main street gets turned in to a giant street fair. It is really pretty cool, we go every time we're in Palm Springs. This year it was busier than we've ever seen it. Unfortunately it was so busy that it was almost impossible to deal with the kids! Dillon was happy for a little while up on Grandpa's shoulders but Kayda wanted to walk and she can slip through the crowd and disappear if she wants to so it was a challenge to keep up with her. They both wanted to be on the move so after about a half an hour we gave up and went home.

That night we rented Bolt and we all hung out and watched it. Dillon was up snuggling with Mommy and Daddy until Nathan got done with his reading. As soon as Nathan laid down to watch the movie Dillon got squirmy and eventually he got down there with the big boys and laid down next to Nathan.

Since the street fair was so busy we decided to go back downtown on Friday and check everything out. So we went and wandered around. We saw some goregous carousels that Kayda loved! She put one hand on her hip and the other out beside her, then tilted her head to look at it. Little miss attitude. She's so cute. You can tell she likes Nathan, it was hard to get her to hold anybody's hand but she held onto Nathan's for a while.

Bakersfield!!!

On Tuesday we drove up to Bakersfield to see MY extended family. At least some of it. It was a long drive and we discovered that Dillon gets car sick but I'm glad we went. I haven't seen my Aunt Mary or her sons, Aaron and Adam, since I was 7 or 8 years old so I was really excited to meet them and their families. Tuesday night we had dinner at Aunt Mary's house and a whole BUNCH of people came. The kids had a GREAT time playing with the toys and the other kids, they had an especially good time with the oldest kids Hailee and Brandon.

Behind the couch left to right: Uncle Bob, Steve (Aunt Mary's boyfriend), Brandon, Grandma G and Dillon
On the couch left to right:Aunt Theresa, Great Grandma Bishop, Andrew, Hailee, Parker, Aaron, Kayda, Bobbie, Ethan, Amy, Sophie (1 week old), Maggie and Adam.

We really enjoyed getting to see everyone! We had a great dinner and time FLEW by. Pretty soon it was 8:30 and the kids were getting crabby so we had to pack up real quick and head towards Great Grandma's house for the night. It was once again, an adventure getting them to sleep.

Great Grandma has three tortoises. Now THOSE are cool pets! They've got those magnificent shells to protect them from little kids, they move slow and get this, their bites don't hurt because they don't have teeth! If I lived somewhere hotter I would definitely have tortoises, I actually had them when I was growing up!!! Anyways the kids found them fascinating! Kayda and Dillon both tried to feed them, Dillon was a little more adventurous and decided to eat the lettuce too! Kayda wasn't sure about touching them but Dillon sure was interested.

After the kiddos had breakfast Aunt Mary came by again. Aunt Mary, Great Grandma, Grandma G, and our little family all went out to lunch after driving by the Buck Owen's Crystal Palace and finding this wonderful sign. Sorry, it was too funny to Daddy and I to leave out! After lunch we had to head out on our 4 hour drive again. Dillon did better, he didn't throw up this time and Kayda slept for most of it.


























Here is a picture of our family with Great Grandma Bishop.

Here is a picture of FOUR generations of women in my family. Great Grandma, Grandma, Mommy and Kayda!

Palm Springs!!!

We had a very LONG day of travelling to get down to Palm Springs. We had to stop in San Jose and switch planes. Fortunately Grandma Peggy was with us and she was able to help a lot! The kids did a lot better than we were anticipating. They liked looking out the window, you couldn't see the planes landing or taking off but at least they could see the people working and driving the trucks around. Most of the time at the airport was spent chasing after them, Kayda discovered that she LOVES escalators.

On the first flight Dillon slept for quite a while and Kayda was entertained by a movie. Thank you technology!!! Dillon did eventually wake up and moved around between Daddy, Kayda, Mommy and across the aisle to Grandma Peggy. It was fun keeping him entertained, he was a little tougher to keep contained!

After about 7.5 hours in the car, on an airplane or in an airport we finally made it to the house! The kids were SO excited to be outside! FREEDOM! We showed the kids the backyard and they went nuts! They had a great time with the few toys we pulled out that evening. Kayda was exploring the house, going into everything, loving the fact that she could reach the light switches.

She had been gone for a while so I went looking for her. She had the door closed, the light on, the tv on and she was lying in bed watching it. It cracked me up, she was watching the news, so I changed the channel to a cartoon so that she would be a little happier.

As we expected after dinner we ended up in the hot tub. The pool takes too long to heat up so we just all went in the hot tub. The kids thought it was just great! It took them a couple of tries to figure out that they couldn't just walk across the hot tub though. They could walk around the edges but they'd sink in the middle. It was NOT fun putting them to sleep in Palm Springs, it was incredibly difficult EVERY single night that we were there but eventually they did go to sleep and eventually they did wake up in the middle of the night but it was still fun being down there. Anyways, on with our pictures and stories...
 

The next morning, right after they ate breakfast, we were outside again. Grandma pulled out the toys and we hosed them down so they weren't quite so dusty. The kiddos had a great time exploring the new set of toys! Dillon discovered the puddle, for a little while he just stomped around in it but the next thing we knew he was bent at the waist trying to DRINK it. He's a sturdy little guy but boy is he flexible!

There is a basketball hoop in the backyard which Daddy lowered so that the kids could shoot hoops. He tried letting Dillon make a basket but he didn't really know what to do, Dillon was too nervous being held up there and holding onto his ball to actually shoot it. We gave Dillon a little break and Daddy let Kayda shoot the ball a few times and shot a few himself. After that Dillon got the idea and had MUCH more fun making baskets with Daddy.

We went to walmart and picked up some more toys for the kids. We got bubbles and Kayda was in heaven! She was pretty good at blowing bubbles at first, then she started blowing too hard and I couldn't get her to be more gentle so she had a MUCH harder time of it. She loved to dip the wand in the soap and then she tried and tried and tried for those bubbles! Dillon thought they were just great when I blew bubbles for him.  He chased them and tried to catch them. Obviously they're bubbles so they're hard to see in this picture but they're floating all around him!

Daddy helped Kayda blow bubbles too, I ADORE this picture!

Those first few days in Palm Springs we went on walks in the evening. The kids had a great time! Dillon did really well, the only places he had trouble were the driveways where the ground is sloped for the cars. He would end up down by the street because he followed the slope! Grandma helped him with that a lot during the walk though, most of the time he was mister independent but he would hold hands for brief moments here and there. Kayda is getting very good at crossing streets now, she looks both ways, RUNS across the street and yells "Hurray" when she gets to the other side. We crossed a street on our walk and she was waiting for Daddy, Dillon and Grandma to get across and I thought her "waiting spot" was well chosen. This is another one of those pictures that I LOVE.

Those first few days we spent a LOT of time in the water. Kayda and Dillon just couldn't get enough of it! Here's some playtime with mommy. Kayda loved any and all floaties that could help her swim around on her own. She played in/with all of them. Dillon preferred to be in someone's arms being carried around where he wanted to go!

The neighbor behind us lent us this huge float toy with a squirt gun on it. Kayda LOVED it. Whenever Dillon was out there too she wanted him on the toy with her. He would sit ever so patiently behind her playing with his toys while she played with the squirt gun. We would go to one end of the pool, say "ready, set go" and then I would push them so they floated to the other end of the pool. Kayda thought it was fantastic, Dillon could have cared less what was going on. He is so laid back, he just goes with the flow.

That is the end of the first part of our California trip. It was perfect weather (which can't be said of the rest of the trip, though it got close) and we had a WONDERFUL time!