First Signs of Summer

The weather finally got the memo that it's summer, at least temporarily.  We had a wonderful day today, the kids were outside literally ALL day long!  We were busy working so I didn't get to take pictures until this evening but it was a great time.  They played outside with Kylie today in the sprinkler, in the wading pool, the sandbox, and on the swingset.  You name it and they were doing it today!  We even went by Grandma and Grandpa G's to help sort through some old toys which turned out to be a major event for Kayda and Dillon because they discovered "Hungry Hungry Hippos".  They played that game outside and inside for over an hour total.  Kayda of course had to be the green one and Dillon could care less which one he was.  It came down to the kids putting the marbles directly into the hippos' mouths.  In the picture below Dillon "fed" Kayda's green hippo.  When he was done Kayda held down the handle so that the hippo stayed out and made him say thank you.  She even changed her voice so that it belonged to the hippo when it said "Thank you Dillon!".  It cracked me up!

They also got to dance with Daddy, some of the dance moves were...interesting, but the kids loved it! 

They also played London Bridge and the kids thought that was the BEST!

I'm pretty sure that Kayda must've gotten THIS from her princess movies.  She just randomly started walking around like this today saying "I'm Kayda"

He's putting some serious effort into swinging that bat!  Unfortunately I couldn't pitch to him because Hank and Gunner were playing, every time I threw the ball they'd try to go get it. 

Guilt Trip

Well, I guilt tripped myself when I realized I only post once a month now.  Fortunately today was an excellent day for pictures.  After Dillon's nap today we got all dressed up and went out to play in the sandbox.  Between the sandbox, the wading pool and a tub of soapy water we entertained ourselves for 3+ hours! You won't see it in the pictures but they both decided they HAD to have their swimsuits on.  They can't stand for their clothes to be wet.  Fortunately, even though the sun wasn't out, it was incredibly muggy and warm. I actually remembered to bring out the camera, combine that with my guilt trip and you get an extra post!

This next picture cracks me up.  She was trying to stomp down the sand tower while sitting on the edge.  I snapped the picture right as she toppled backwards.  She immediately popped up and said "My Okay!".  Then she got back in the sandbox and tried again standing up.

Squishing the sandcastle we made.  It was nothing beautiful or glorious which would be fine if they made it, but I did so you only get to see the demolished version.

Hank, he was brave enough to get in the sandbox for a little while and sniff around.  When they saw him in there they came running.  Apparently then it was too crowded.

 

Kayda wanted to clean the patio table so I got a tub of warm soapy water (as opposed to the cold sand filled wading pool water).  Next thing I know they're cleaning their trikes.  I'm worried about what they're going to be like when they turn 16 and have cars if they pay this close attention to their trikes.

Dillon still takes a nap every afternoon, he just isn't quite ready to NOT have one.  Kayda on the other hand gave hers up not too long after Dillon was born.  Since they played so hard today this is how Kayda ended her day.  (She snuggles with Hank a LOT)

Dillon, on the other hand, is still awake and kicking!  Mommy and Dillon special time since Kayda's zonked out and Daddy's off playing softball!  Off to enjoy my little snuggle bug!

Rain, Rain Go AWAY!

The month of May was a nasty affair here.  Rain, rain, rain and more rain.  Though we had a couple of decent days here and there.  The kids and I have been snuggling up inside most of the time so I finally caved and bought some nice wood puzzles, the cardboard type I was getting before just wasn't cutting it.  Both the kids LOVE to do puzzles.  Kayda is escpecially good with special orientation.  She does a puzzle a couple of times with an adult, then magically she is putting pieces in their approximate locations WITHOUT any other pieces even near them (see below).  Dillon is still figuring out how to get them turned correctly but he can tell you where a piece should go and sort out which pieces create each part of the picture.  They will sit there and play with these things (I bought more than I should have...course I fully intend to get more of them) for up to an hour. 

We have been spending every opportunity outside, even in light rain.  The kids go out front to the cul-de-sac and play with the other kids that live in our cul-de-sac.  They ride bikes, play catch (to the best of their slowly increasing ability), dig in the dirt, watch the dogs play.  Speaking of dogs Hank has made friends with our neighbors dog.  Since he's started playing with Gunner, Hank has started being a much more obedient dog, he comes when I call and he is playing fetch out front now instead of just when he's confined.  So he is outside, even in the front yard, with the kids and I almost all the time now. 

Anyways back to the kids.  We bought Dillon a bike, 14 inch thinking 12 is too small and Kayda's 16in is too big.  Well guess what... he's tall enough to get on it but can't reach the pedals at the very bottom.  So he has his blue big bike that he LOVES but he won't even try to ride it because it's too big.  Oh well, guess he'll have to stick with his trike for a while longer.  Despite the fact that Dillon pedals three times as fast and moves half the speed all the kids have been having a great time outside.  Here are a couple of pictures:

I love living in a cul-de-sac, well not in it but on the way into a cul-de-sac.  It's a great place for the kids to play and I can keep an eye on them easily.  They ride their bikes in the cul-de-sac, down to our house and back, all day long.  

I have been roaming craigslist almost obsessively ever since Uncle Jordan showed me a sandbox he found on there that I fell in love with.  Well good news!  I found one, for the fourth time, and was the first contact so we are now the proud owners of a sandboat!  The only boat we'll own for a LONG time.  It has a canopy and a padded seat for the bench on the back which are currently being washed.  The front also has a cover but I have to fix it, it's meant for toy storage.  The kids and I are so excited!  They were out there playing in it in the rain yesterday after we got it.  Kayda is anxiously waiting for me to finish this post right now so we can go play with it, Dillon's sleeping. 

Last but not least, it is official, I will NOT be working next year.  I handed in my resignation May 26th.  I'll still have to substitute occassionally for a little breathing room but for the most part I will be home to be mommy, nurse, teacher, chauffeur, play date organizer, snuggler, story teller, artist etc with my wonderful children!

So much to tell you.

Early last month we had a particularly nice day, it was sunny and dry, but it was cold.  The dandelions were coming out so I decided to bundle up the kids so they could play outside.  Well we went out there and I told the kids we should pick the pretty flowers (you know, try to limit the number that we'll have later).  We had a great time of it.  They got distracted pretty quickly but had a great time playing outside on the slide and swings. 

We have been working our tails off for several weeks trying to get Dillon's room done.  He climbs out of his crib regularly (has been doing it for a while) and he needs his own space.  There are a lot of times that Kayda goes back to her room and wants to play alone and I really wanted him to have that option as well.  When we were putting the first coat of paint on Kayda and Dillon both wanted to help.  They were content with the little brushes for a while but Dillon quickly got bored and Kayda decided she wanted to use the big brushes and rollers with Mommy and Daddy.   I can only say that I am VERY glad we took off their clothes before they "helped" us and that I am VERY glad that they both are so interested in being helpers.

The end of April Kayda had her second ever dentist appointment.  She actually had her own appointment this time and got to have her teeth polished.  No cavities!  Yay, way to start!  She thoroughly enjoyed going and is excited to go again.  She got to have her teeth counted, she was very shy but loved to listen to the dentist and dental hygienist talk to her.  She loved "Mr. Thirsty"  and gave the dental hygienist a hard time while the flouride was being brushed on her teeth because she kept closing her mouth!

As I said before we have been working like CRAZY to finish Dillon's room.  Since I decided I wanted to finish it completely (molding, crown EVERYTHING) so that we could say we had one room DONE (none of our house is 100% complete) it rapidly turned into getting Kayda's room DONE as well.  We ordered new furniture for both of them.  Daddy's best friend, "Uncle" Jordan is back in town looking for work and he has been helping us TONS with the molding and painting and such.  We've managed to finish the kids rooms and with the help of Kellina (aka Kina) put all that furniture together!  They look great I am SO happy with the results.  We decorated a little today and got all their toys in there, now it's just a matter of getting clothes into their new places.  We also got the hallway done.  We finally have closet doors and molding and I LOVE the new color!  Sounds silly I know but when you were tearing out carpet and raising ceilings and painting and tiling and so on, the closet doors kind of get left out of the mix.   Thanks SO much Uncle Jordan and Kellina and of course Daddy!  Oh and thanks Grandma and Grandpa G for letting us borrow the tools, they made it SO much easier.  Anyways, here are the rooms minus pictures on the walls. I think you can tell which ones which.

While the adults have been so preoccupied with doing all the necessary parts of the project (painting....painting....painting...)  Dillon and Kayda have been bonding with the other kids in our cul-de-sac.  Kylie (5.5) and Kayda are great friends and then Tazzmyne and Jasmine (9 I think) both ADORE Dillon.  They keep the kids happy and out of the way.  The kids all kind of migrate together from the front yard to the back yard, to inside to someone else's yard.  It has worked out very nicely and the kids have LOVED it!  Here's Kylie, Kayda and Dillon all on the teeter-totter on our swing set.  They all wanted to be on it together!

The kids both slept in their new beds last night.  They both love their new rooms and furniture.  They were tough to get to sleep because they were so excited.  Combine that with the fact that Kayda napped when she usually doesn't and it wasn't an easy night.  They'll get used to it though.  I didn't put up any pictures or anything in their rooms until today, the first thing I did put up was the bed net over Kayda's bed.  When she first saw it she said "So pretty thank you Mom!", then she proceeded to lay in her bed and yell for everyone in the house to come in her bed with her.  When she finally got Dillon's attention he wandered into the room, stopped, saw the net and said "Oh Cool" and then climbed into bed with her.  They are getting so big, so quickly and they are so entertaining!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  We actually managed to celebrate Easter on the day we were supposed to!  Here's what the Easter bunny dropped off for the kids!

I think Kayda must've seen part of her dress in it's hiding spot because this is our conversation from last night. 

Mom:  We need to go to sleep for the Easter bunny to come.

Kayda:  Bunny bring beautiful dress?

Mom:  Maybe, I don't know what the bunny will bring.

Kayda:  Bring Beautiful dress with polk-a-dots.

Mom:  Polk-a-dots?  What color pok-a-dots?

Kayda:  Green and blue polk-a-dots on beautiful dress.

Notice the dress has green and purple polk-a-dots.  Now Grandma H also came by with a dress for Kayda that had polk-a-dots so I'm not positive she was referring to her Easter dress.  I guess we'll never know for sure. 

This morning we all shuffled out to see if the Easter bunny had come.  The first thing the kids noticed were the guns.  Then Kayda noticed the chocolate.  She was very excited about that, once she pointed it out Dillon noticed and then he was very excited about that as well. 

We managed to pull them away for the Easter egg hunt, they did quite well of course we provided generous hints for some of them.  They'll figure it out as they get older!

Then it was back to the guns!

Check out Dillon, "stick 'em up!"

And that was the longest we could keep Kayda from her "beautiful dress".  We dragged them outside for a few pictures (we knew it would be only a few because it's chilly out there)

I am in LOVE with this picture.  Kayda tried to give Dillon a kiss and this was his reaction!  Such a little boy!

Kayda decided it was too cold, Dillon didn't mind (granted boys wear more clothes than girls) and he was going to check out those plants.

 We rushed back inside and took some more pictures.  Unfortunately you can't see their outfits because they're sitting down but I must say I have two goregous children!

Easter Prep... on time for once!

After lunch today we decorated Easter eggs.  Grandma H came over for the fun before she had to run off to the store.  We stuck the kids in towels (we used clothes pins to hold them on) so we didn't have to worry about staining their clothes, I thought their togas were charming.  We tried putting the eggs in whisks to help prevent broken eggs and such.  It worked wonderfully for Kayda but Dillon decided to was great fun to just keep putting the whisk in and out of the dye, thus splashing it all over the place.  They had a good time but they definitely weren't ready to be done when we ran out of hard boiled eggs.  Kayda is very excited for the Easter bunny to come and hide her eggs, Dillon doesn't understand the concept quite as well. 

When we were finished coloring the eggs we took a break for them to dry so we could do stickers on the eggs.  During that time Dillon took a nap and we ran over to Grandma and Grandpa G's for their strawberries.  Kayda was bundled up real good in her jacket, hood up, hands in pockets..and she tripped.  Poor girl, her hands were stuck so she ended up scraping up her chin, lips and nose real good. 

Finally we were able to put the stickers on the eggs.  They didn't want to stay on but the kids had fun anyway.  They ended up sticking more of them on themselves than the eggs.

He loves to show off!

She tried so hard to smile for us... but you can tell it hurt.