Heather's Headlines

Christmas 2011

2012-01-03T19:19:00.000-06:00

I know that Christmas was a few weeks ago, but I really want to make sure that I have some pictures posted to look back on in future years! We had a blast at Christmas....the kids had so much fun! They loved opening gifts and trying on/playing with everything they received....which was too much! :)

Dane loved his new cowboy hat from Poppy

Kenna couldn't wait to tear into all the presents.

All the kids ready to go to bed so Santa can come visit

My kids must have been really good this year!

Kenna was sooooo excited to get her Lion King Movie....that is ALL that she asked for!

Dane was very ready to try out his new tricycle.

And it didn't take long for Kenna to begin showing off her creative side....she loves to draw and color!

Merry Christmas from the Boyd Family!

Christmas "Trauma"

2011-12-27T21:20:00.000-06:00

I know it has been several months since I have blogged. So to get back in the swing of things, I thought I would post the two "traumatic" things that happened to my children this Christmas.

1) When Santa visits my house, he always brings his presents unwrapped. I know that some kids have wrapped gifts from Santa, but not us. Of course, Kenna has been talking about Santa bringing her wrapped presents for weeks. I didn't want her to be disappointed on Christmas morning, so the night before, Daniel and I were reminding her that Santa was not going to bring wrapped gifts. Here is the conversation that followed.....

Daniel: Kenna, you know that Santa is not going to bring wrapped presents, right?

Kenna: Why?

D: Well, Santa and the elves have been very busy and may not have time to wrap everything.

K: Why? (If you can't tell, this is her favorite word)

D: Well, because the economy right now is not very good.

K: Huh? (by this point, I am shaking because I am laughing so hard)

D: Santa has had to lay off some elves because the economy has been so bad. He isn't going to have time to wrap everyone's gifts.
K: Is that funny? Why is Mommy laughing?
D: No, it is not funny, there are a lot of elves looking for work right now.
Kenna at this point turns to me and grabs my cheeks so that she is looking me straight in the eye.
K: Mommy, it is not funny, there are a lot of elves looking for work!

Poor kid is going to be traumatized when she thinks about elves!!

2) I don't think this picture needs any explanation....it speaks for itself!

My poor children! :) I promise that my next post will have all of their fun Christmas memories!!

Maui 2011

2011-11-02T22:12:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, Daniel and I went with Jon and Mandy to the gorgeous Hawaiian island of Maui. We had such a great time! I am so thankful for that special time that I get to spend with my husband....and being on a beautiful beach makes it just a little bit better! :) I know that this might be picture overload but there were so many pretty sights and fun things to do that I just couldn't narrow it down any further! If it is a really good photo, then it was probably taken by Jon! :) Blogger will only let me upload so many at a time so this little recap will be done in two separate posts but I am going to do them at the same time so keep reading!

The car of choice in Hawaii has to be a convertible.....but 6 days worth of luggage for 4 people, plus those 4 people, make for an interesting trip to/from the airport!

Upon arriving, we went straight from the airport (don't look too closely....we had just been on a plane for 8 hrs) to Mama's Fish House for a delicious dinner. Daniel is STILL talking about the mahi mahi! Looking out over the ocean while waiting for a table is not such a bad welcome either!

The Black Tahitian Pearl dessert - chocolate mousse covered in chocolate with a cookie shell....yummo!!

After dinner, we went to check in at the hotel. We were greeted with leis and lots of alohas. When we made it up to our room (which was really nice by the way) this was sitting on our coffee table. They leave a welcome platter in every room (right) but, because it was both of our birthdays in Oct, they left us some special birthday cakes with 'Happy Birthday' written in Hawaiian.

Looking out over the main pool towards the ocean.

We left the hotel at 3 AM the next morning to go watch the sunrise at the top of Haleakala. The elevation is 10,023 feet (and we were at sea level at the hotel) and it is COLD up there! It was 41 degrees when we got there....luckily we were all prepared!

What a backdrop, right?

It was absolutely stunning and, despite the great pictures, it is even more beautiful in person.

It was kinda crazy to come back down to 85 degree weather at the hotel! This picture is of the pool/lawn area while they are lighting the torches before sunset.

Dinner looking out over the ocean....so enjoyable.

Part two down below!

Maui Part 2

2011-11-02T22:11:00.001-05:00

The next day we took off on the Road to Hana. What a road. In 52 miles, there are 617 turns (some of them going blind into a one lane road) and 54 bridges. This site has some great pictures of the actual bridges. Some curves tell you to blow your horn to make sure no one else is coming! If you drive straight there it will take you at least 3 hours to go the 52 miles. Of course the whole idea behind the drive is to spend the entire day making your way there and back (we were gone from our hotel for 11 hours) and just enjoy the scenery. There are tons of places that are scenic lookouts over the ocean and there are also several paths were you will walk along a path for 10-15 min. into the trees. You also have lots of beautiful waterfalls. We didn't even stop at all of the possible places. It was amazing. They sell t-shirts that say "I survived the Road to Hana". I need one of those. It took me 3 doses of Dramamine, some sea bands, a stint at driving, and a very understanding husband who drove much slower than he wanted to for me to make it but it was definitely worth it!

What a way to spend the day seeing the sights!

Daniel and Jon did some body surfing at one of the beaches.

This definitely wasn't a bad place to hang out and watch the guys :)

We actually went swimming in this pool and under the waterfall....such pure, refreshing water

Eucalyptus trees - love the bark!

Daniel going for a swim

Black Sand Beach

Lava at the black sand beach...not a place to go swimming!

Overall it was a great drive!

We also spent some time at the pool, on the beach, and snorkeling.

Looking back at our hotel from the beach

Sea Turtles up close and personal!

We spent the last night of our trip at a traditional Hawaiian Luau. Fun event!

The pig that had been cooking all day

We were standing next to the emu when they started to dig out the pig. They asked Daniel and Jon if they wanted to dig, so of course they had to say yes!

Sunset before the show started

The fire guy was AMAZING!

There you have it! We had a great time! I really missed my kids but knew they were in good hands. Kenna was convinced that Hawaii was a place where Mommies and Daddies go while their kids are on vacation at their grandparents house. :) ALOHA!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T21:11:00.000-05:00

So I need to join in with all of my other blogger friends with a few (or several) Halloween pics!! Kenna has been counting down for weeks and was so excited to wear her costume. I don't think she really remembers much about last year but she was ready to go this time around! From the very first time I asked her what she wanted to be (sometime around Labor Day), she has said Strawberry Shortcake. My little girl has turned into quite the Strawberry fan!! (That really makes me laugh because I remember having a Strawberry Shortcake sleeping bag and birthday party....among other things I'm sure!). Dane didn't have a preference :) so he went as a monkey. We got to dress everyone up twice. Once for Trunk or Treat at church (Sunday) and then for the actual Trick or Treating on Monday.

Trunk or Treat Pics

I think she makes a great Strawberry Shortcake!

My sweet little monkey

Kenna was very ready to show Dane how it all worked.

She definitely wasn't shy about finding what she wanted!

Cousin JD made a great Captain Hook!

Dane decided he needed to sample some of the loot.

"If you don't open this sucker, I am going to eat it paper and all!" Which he did....

Trick or Treating Pics

We took the wagon so we could move things along a little faster and these two had a blast!

Didn't take them long to figure out that ringing the doorbell meant candy was on the way!

Hope you all enjoyed your Halloween as much as we did ours! Now to hide all of the candy..... :)

Haircuts

2011-10-28T19:17:00.002-05:00

This past week was a big one for our family as far as haircuts were concerned! Three out of four of us made some fairly drastic changes (I bet you can't guess which person isn't included in that number)

Haircut #1 - Kenna has only had her hair cut one time in her 3.5 years of life and it was time to change that! Her hair had actually gotten fairly long and was in the middle of her back but it was getting thin at the ends. Luckily, her Aunt Kyla fixed her right up!

Doesn't it look cute!

Haircut #2 - Kyla then moved on to Daners...

He has never had a haircut....ever....and I was terrified that his little curls were going to go away forever if I had them cut. But his hair was getting a little long in the back, and, more often than not, looked a little crazy so it was definitely time to do something!

And look! The curls are still there! It is actually even a little curlier than it was before once we got the extra weight off. It is too cute when you see it in person!

He looks more like a little boy now than a baby!

And this is how I know that my parents love me....because I was the "bad mommy" who was on vacation with daddy when her son gets his first haircut, they took lots of pictures and sent him home with an envelope that had a few curls saved inside....thank you!!! :)

Thank you Kyla!!!!! Everyone's hair looks great!!!

Haircut #3 was me. I had a little over 12 inches cut off of my hair and it is now shorter than it has been in a VERY long time....maybe the shortest ever! I will post pictures soon! (How many of you guessed that Daniel was the one who didn't change his style? haha!)

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-26T21:00:00.000-05:00

Like a lot of families with kiddos, we took a weekend trip to our local pumpkin patch a few weekends ago. They had so much fun!!! Kenna is definitely getting to an age where she really enjoys doing things that are "special" or a "surprise"....anything that is out of the ordinary. Dane...well....Dane is just along for the ride! :)

We started off with the large pen of goats.

Dane wasn't too sure if he wanted to get very close.....

....but Kenna couldn't wait for more goats to come eat out of her cup!

This was the best picture of the two of them together that we could get....so hard to get both of them to look at the camera at the same time!

Dane was so excited that he found the perfect pumpkin to take home with him! Love that grin!!

Kenna took the decision very seriously....

I love the look on Kenna's face.... "Mom, I can't get him to sit still!"

They also got to climb all over some bales of hay that were scattered around the area.

But then Kenna wanted to see what was in that hole between the hay bales

And Dane just wanted to jump!!!!

Good thing Daddy was there to catch him!

We had so much fun! We have actually had a pretty busy month with lots of exciting things happening...guess it is time to catch up on the blog! Next up....3 out of 4 family members with new do's!

I Wanna Be Like......

2011-09-26T21:04:00.000-05:00

I don't think Dane really knows who he wants to be like. He is wearing Kenna's necklace, Daniel's shirt, and my shoes. Imitation is the most sincere sort of flattery, right? :)

(Please forgive his "tousled" bed head and pajamas. We were about to get ready for church.)

Patiently Waiting

2011-09-17T21:05:00.005-05:00

Dane is completely infatuated with phones these days. Two of the few words that you can understand when he is talking are "hi" and "bye". Sometimes he will even throw in a "hewwo." He has a Fisher-Price phone but he prefers to play with the old cell phones that we have had lying around. A boy can always use a phone (or three), right?

And if you decide that you need to make a call, you can just place the other two phones on the floor and dial the phone that you would like to use at that point in time. I wonder where he gets his phone love from? (haha)

While Kenna does enjoy talking on the real phone, she would much prefer to play with her kitchen as opposed to a toy phone. The only problem is that she (with a little help from her brother) feels that she needs to have all of her food, pots, pans, utensils, etc, at her disposal while she is cooking. She doesn't exactly clean as she goes! :)

But she loves to bring me some yummy food to taste!

Just had to throw this last picture in for fun. A few days ago, Kenna was wanting to do something (I can't even remember what now) and I told her that she had to wait until Dane went to bed. She asked me how long it would be until Dane was asleep and I told her that she needed to wait about 10 minutes. She was really concerned because she doesn't know exactly how long 10 min would be and wanted me to set the timer on the microwave so that she would know when it had been 10 min. She proceeded to pull up her chair and stare at the timer until it buzzed. She did not want him to stay up any longer those exact 10 min...I guess she was really ready for him to go to bed!

At least she was patiently waiting!

Picture Post

2011-09-11T16:33:00.001-05:00

I was going through some recent pictures the other day, trying to decide which ones to print, and found these that I have never posted. Just thought I would do a catch-up picture post!

Dane still loves his slide and plays on it E.V.E.R.Y day. I love his little grin in this picture!

Daners has decided that he is big enough to feed himself and he does not need any help. How well do you think that is working out for him? Sister K decided they needed beefaroni for dinner and then he decided he needed to do it himself....this is the outcome!

She fared a little better. :)

What kid doesn't love to vacuum!?! This is one toy that regularly requires some referee-ing....both kids are always wanting it!

Of course, Dane also likes to take it apart and use the dust buster. The only problem is that he uses it as a phone instead of a vacuum. I just missed him having it up on his ear "talking" into the side. EVERYTHING is a phone and gets his really cute "hewwo"

Kenna was SOOOOO proud of herself the other day for picking out her own clothes. Daniel said that she got really excited that she found some shorts that matched every color in her shirt! She told me all about it on the phone (I was at work) and even made sure to list all of the colored dots that had a matching colored stripe. Lots of brightness! She is also working on her 'fake" smile that she refers to as her "good smile" :)

I sure do love these two kids....they keep everything lively around here!

Spontaneous Road Trip

2011-09-08T21:50:00.000-05:00

In general, I am not a very spontaneous person. I really like to have things planned and organized and very rarely do I do anything on the spur of the moment. Boring, I know! :) But this past Thursday night, I decided to break out of my comfort zone. Daniel was going to work two of the days of the holiday weekend so the kids and I took off and drove to Muleshoe on Friday when I got off work. Even though my children did not sleep in the car (as usual), they were GREAT travelers! They just talked, sang, watched movies, snacked....it was wonderful! We had a blast just hanging out with the family and doing nothing. Abbye came to play for a few days as well and the girls had a lot of fun together.

Poppy reading a bed time story.....they look pretty comfortable, don't they?

This is what happens when you have really cute, curly hair that your mother hasn't let anyone cut yet and your Aunt is a hair stylist....she couldn't help herself! Blame Kyla! :)

The new way to swing?

This is how you know your uncle Cade and aunt Kyla love you....they play on the slides with you!

Wheeeee!!!!!

Kenna loved ending the day everyday with her "friend Abbye"...getting all cozy and watching Mickey Mouse in Poppy and Mimzi's bed (before they got kicked out to their own)

Not a bad way to spend the holiday weekend! Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us crash at your house for the weekend!

Under Construction

2011-08-24T21:51:00.001-05:00

When Daniel and I first built our house the summer of 2007, one of the things that we REALLY wanted was a covered patio. That was not a standard option for our house and the builder wanted way too much money to add it to our plan. We decided to settle for little larger pad and then plan on doing our own addition later. (Of course, six months after we built our house, they added a covered patio as a standard option. We are now the only house on our street that doesn't have a covered patio) The time to fix that has finally come!

Here is a picture of our current patio. Nice sized but, because of the way our house faces, it is ALWAYS in the the direct sunlight!

Did you notice Dane trying to peek out the window in the door? :)

Now my backyard has looked like this for about a week and a half now, but that's okay because it means things are getting done!

We started off by adding a little extra concrete onto our current pad to make it larger.

Because of the slope of our yard at that point and the additional concrete, we are going to have to add some new dirt and grass.

A few days ago they put up all the framework....yay!!!

Since I have taken pictures, they have added the decking and are starting to install the lights and fans, etc. The roofing people are supposed to start their thing tomorrow....both the patio and my whole house that is still in its "damaged state" from the storm in April. It will definitely be nice to not have blue tarps covering the small holes in my roof! :)

There are still several things that we want to do after this part is finished (cabinets, grill, etc.) but I am so excited that it is actually in the works.....I will keep you posted!

Happy Birthday Gran!

2011-08-10T20:54:00.001-05:00

My little family spent this past weekend in Arlington with all of my Mom's family for my Grandmother's birthday. A trip to the Dallas area has become a yearly tradition for Gran's birthday but we decided to tweak it just a bit and ALL get hotel rooms in Arlington. (Usually, there is a large group that stays at my house). It was a little warm outside all weekend long but I think we made the most of it!

We started the party off right with a delicious dinner at Pappasito's....Yummy!

Gran enjoying the spotlight while being serenaded

Because we had such a large party, we chose to eat outside on the patio instead of waiting an hour and a half to be seated. The kids were able to run around and play and the girls even made a train out of some extra chairs. They made sure their brothers participated. Sorry that Dane is pantless in this picture. The poor kid's mommy put him in overalls and then Daddy decided it was too hot to be wearing overalls...but they were so cute!! :)

Saturday was spent running around and shopping. You can't take kids to a mall with a carousel and not let them ride. They were sooooo excited!

Saturday evening we ventured out into the 100+ degree weather to watch the Texas Rangers. Kenna was most impressed with the "really really big flag" by centerfield. I have to admit....it was a great flag to honor!

Gran's Great-grandsons....all ready to root for the Rangers!

Anson (17 mos), Dane (14 mos), Keaton (10 mos)

It took a little while for Miss K to understand that we were going back to a baseball game and not hockey (her daddy has her brainwashed) bu once she got there she was ready to go. I think she especially liked all of the snacks that Mommy brought that she doesn't get to eat on a regular basis. :)

Love the grin on the face of my little princess.

It didn't take Dane long to focus in on the game. Maybe we have a future baseball player?

Grampy and Keaton, Poppy and Dane

I think this is a really funny picture of the girls. They had both been wearing their Ranger's hats. Hats, active girls, and 100* heat do not go well together when it comes to hairdos!

My cousin, Zach, flew in from CA to help Gran celebrate. It had been a while since I had seen him so it was good to give him a hug!

Cousin Leslye, her husband Joey, and Cousin Zach

We were sad that the Rangers lost but we still had a fun time!

Any other spare time throughout the weekend was spent at the pool. My kids (and my sister's kids) are little fishes! They want to be in the pool A.L.L. the time! The hotel had a really neat splash pad for the little ones.

And the girls took turns showing us how far they could jump. Here they were trying to give Charlie a high five as they went into the water.

And what better way to end the weekend than with a ride around the lobby on the luggage cart. Poppy was such a great driver!

So glad that almost everyone was able to come....we had a blast! Happy Birthday Gran!

Bed Head

2011-08-05T05:53:00.002-05:00

When I went to get Dane out of bed the other morning, he had the most AMAZING case of bed head I have seen in a very long time! We had stayed at the pool a little longer than we had intended the night before and put him to bed with wet hair after rinsing him off. I guess he rubbed up against the bumpers in his crib and this is what resulted!! Too bad I couldn't get him to stay still long enough to get a head-on shot. I love my little boys curls!

Party Pics

2011-08-03T20:33:00.004-05:00

This past weekend, Kenna was invited to the birthday party of one of our neighbors. She had it at a gymnastics/play place which is the type of thing that Kenna LOVES! Daniel was working so Dane got to tag along for some of the fun. Both kiddos had a B.L.A.S.T. It was so fun to watch them run all over the place and they both crashed when we made it home!

They had a fun zipline that the kids could go down (with a little help). Kenna thought it was "way fast." :) Dane really, really, really wanted to go down the zipline so I had to "trap" him in some of the mats they had out. He just stood looking at the other kids longingly. Poor guy! :(

The girls that the place provided to run the party took pity on Dane and let him have a try....too funny!

Every party that has pink cupcakes, strawberries, and capri-suns is a hit in the 3-4 yr old crowd! The two girls sitting on either side of Miss K are also our neighbors and are all pretty much the same age. They will all turn 4 this spring (March, April, and Feb as you make your way from right to left). I love that Kenna has some girls that like right next to us that she will go to school with!!

Dane did find something he could participate in....ball pit!!

I didn't end up with a picture of the birthday girl, but, thanks Lexie for inviting us to your party! We all had so much fun!!!

Family Vacay - Part 1

2011-07-25T22:49:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we were so blessed to get to spend some time with my family in San Antonio. We met up with my parents, my sister and fam, and my brother and his wife for some fun in the sun and Sea World. It was so much fun to get to take some time all together and just play! Everyone was there for three nights and then our family stayed for two more nights for a little family time of our own. I took tons of pics....so get ready for some picture overload!! :) I am going to do this in two parts - I already tried to just do one big long post and it froze up my blogger acct so here is attempt #2 - The first part is of San Antonio and of our hotel. The second post is all things Sea World.

We started the trip with a visit to the Riverwalk. For as long as I can remember, everytime that my family has gone to SA, we have had dinner at Casa Rio on the riverwalk....yummy! It is was as good as usual. Kenna spent her time waiting for our food to arrive by trying to talk to one of the ducks. I'm pretty sure that was not on the list of approved activities! :) After dinner, we took a ride on the river boats - a Riverwalk must!

My 3 sweeties (or sweaties...it was so HOT!!)

Just thought this picture was funny. One night after bath time, I found Dane just hanging out on the stroller. I had kept the last half of Kenna's sandwich from dinner in case she wanted it before bed, but I guess Dane found it first....and made himself comfortable! This became his go-to seat. He loved it there! One afternoon, we actually got to enjoy a beautiful hard rain shower! This was the view out my hotel room door as Dane was napping. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon - sleeping baby, rain outside, and a good book (K and Daddy had been swimming)!

My kids absolutely loved the hotel where we stayed - it was a great vacation spot for families! Because of the rain, there was not much anyone could do outside so the hotel set up some indoor activities for the kids. Kenna was so proud of the necklace that she made with beads - and has worn it every day since!

Daddy and Dane hanging out in the lobby while Kenna and I were working on her necklace.

My brother making himself comfortable.

Our family picture - after it stopped raining for a little bit - a little humid outside!

The whole clan...too bad the girls aren't looking up! On the days that we were not at Sea World, we loved staying and playing at the pool. The hotel had a lazy river that was complete with a beach...my kids were in heaven! Dane would often make himself comfortable so that he could have a snack.

Family "train" led by Kenna down the lazy river. (Daddy was standing on the bridge)

Dane LOVED playing in the sand...even if Daddy was covering him up!

He thought it was so much fun that he decided to do it all by himself....

And what better way to end the day, then taking a two second walk across the sand to the fire pit and roasting marshmallows so that everyone can enjoy an evening s'more (one of Mommy's favorite parts....yum)

Definitely a fun place to stay and we were not really ready to leave. Keep reading for some Sea World Fun!

Family Vacay - Part 2

2011-07-25T22:45:00.000-05:00

Because we stayed for a few more days, we were actual able to go to Sea World for 2 days. The first day we made it a big trip with everyone and then we took Kenna and Dane back to do a few more things after everyone had left. We were there to open the place on Monday. What a beautiful, cloudless (read HOT) morning! Kenna was all decked out and ready to go.

She was so excited to go see the "Dry Shamu" and all of his friends. She said that she could only hug this Shamu because the other one that lives in the ocean would get her all wet! (makes sense to me!)

We went straight over to the dolphin area to feed the dolphins.

I think Anson was ready to jump right in! :)

I wasn't sure what KBB would think about holding the "Fishies" but she actually just grabbed it and was ready to go!

Daddies, Daughters, and Dolphins

We then went to cool off in the air-conditioned aquarium. I couldn't believe how ready for the cool we were when it was not even 10:30 yet! :)

Dane loved looking at the fish....Kenna fell in love with the sting rays (who knew?) and has decided that she is going to act like a stingray when she is swimming. :)

Dane really enjoyed watching the sea lion/walrus show.....

...he was captivated!

Kenna's favorite show (and mine) was Azul - or as she describes it, the one with the jumping and diving and swimming and ladies. It was an amazing show that was full of beluga whales, dolphins, synchronized swimmers, synchronized divers (who dove off of 60 foot platforms - nuts!!!), birds, and much, much more. Very fun!

Unfortunately, Dane missed out on this show. He enjoyed his nap time on Poppy though!

And what trip to Sea World is complete without a visit to Shamu! This was Kenna's other fav....I just didn't take a lot of pictures because we were on the outer edge of the splash zone and I really didn't want my camera to get wet!

And Kenna and Abbye got to experience their very first roller coaster - the Shamu Express. They thought it was so much fun! (I didn't get the camera zoomed in time - I promise they are on there somewhere with their daddies!)

We decided to go back for a short time a few days later. There were several things in the toddler area that we did not get to do and our tickets actually allowed us in for a second day so we decided to take advantage of it!

Kenna and Daddy on the Carousel. Dane and I were sitting on the bench behind them. Both of my kids thought it was great!

We got off the carousel just in time for the Elmo show and Kenna LOVED it! She was so excited to see all of the characters (Dane was just chilling in the stroller).

She literally danced her way to the front so she could see!

They had some great toddler rides...

...and she had a blast on every single one of them!

So there you have it....way more pictures than most of you wanted to see, but not near as many as we took! What a fun vacation - Sea World and Swimming - it was a Toddler's dream vacation. :) Every morning Kenna would wake up and say "Is my vacation still on?" and as soon as we would say yes, she would start clapping and saying "goody, goody!" Just what a mommy wants to hear! :)

Time for pics!

2011-07-13T20:51:00.005-05:00

Man, I have become such a slacker! How has it already been 2 weeks since I blogged!?!

Anyway, Daddy had to work on the 4th of July, so we took a family trip up to the station. I thought Kenna looked so cute looking out the window of the fire engine. I tried to get them to both smile for the camera, but Dane was too interested in climbing all around the inside of the engine. (Climbing is what he does best these days....that and collecting bruises from everything he falls off of as he is climbing!)

Lots of interesting things to look at and mess with!! The kids had a blast running up and down the long hall in the station. Thanks guys for putting up with the squealing...they were having fun!

Because of Daniel's work and travel schedule the last few weeks, Dane has had to spend some time with me and Miss K at gymnastics. He usually stays home with Daddy because he wants to participate soooo badly! It is a full time job to keep him from trying to run out onto the mats and joining in the class for which he is much too young. I finally gave in and let him play with the portable air conditioner just to keep him occupied. He LOVED it! I wish I would have gotten a better picture of his hair when he walked away....it was greatness!

Saturday afternoon, we were walking around the mall with my cousins who were in town. Kenna decided that she needed to try out the weight benches at Dick's Sporting Goods....a girl after her Daddy's heart!

Well, there are a few pictures of what we have been up to lately. Hopefully I will do better in the upcoming weeks!

Dance Party at My House

2011-06-30T19:49:00.002-05:00

Previously, I posted about Kenna and her fascination with Glee. Now, a year later, I don't think that her obsession has dimmed at all. Of course, I don't really think it is necessarily Glee, just that she likes to have a "dance party" and asks for them quite regularly. She will even tell you exactly which song she wants and what the characters are wearing in that song. Because we do this sooo often, she has taught her brother to enjoy it as much as she does. We switched TV providers yesterday and Kenna doesn't know that all of her taped dance partners are no longer available...I wonder how well that will turn out when she finds out!

Anyway....I recorded the kids dancing the other night and like all of these videos for different reasons. Unless you are one of their grandparents (haha), I don't expect you to watch all three, but I thought they were fun! :)

Dane has got some pretty good moves for a 13 month old! He seems to always have a cup in his hand/arm and doesn't really care if it is his or his sisters.

Kenna has stopped doing a lot of her more original dance moves (at least most of the time...she will occasionally surprise us with something she busts out) and prefers to twirl or dance/run around in a circle. Hey, whatever works! :)

Enjoy a glimpse into our evening dance parties!

As Kenna would say, she is "totally" high in this one!

We have to go change Kenna's clothes into this dress (or one similar) every time that we dance so she can get the proper twirl. :) I had another video that I was trying to add but blogger is being difficult...maybe some other time!

Relaxing in Muleshoe

2011-06-19T20:48:00.006-05:00

Last week, Kenna and Dane spent some time with my parents in Muleshoe while Daniel and I both stayed home to work. When Saturday rolled around, we headed that way to have a little "mini-vacation" before bringing the kids back home. The last several times we have made a trip to my parents', it has always been for some event....a wedding, birthday, shower, holiday, etc. It was SOOO nice to be able to go for an extended time with absolutely nothing to do but enjoy each other's company! :)

Abbye and Anson (and their parents) did come to play for two of the days we were there. All of the cousins had a blast playing on the back porch in their swimming pool. They even had fun dodging the occasional shower.....

....from Aunt Kyla who armed herself with the water hose (smart woman)!

Dane found his new best friend in his Poppy on this trip. Dane followed him around everywhere just waiting to be picked up! I walked into church this morning holding Dane and had to keep him from diving out of my arms to chase after the tall, bald man who was about 20 feet ahead of us. I had the unlucky job of convincing him that was not Poppy!

We stayed for 4 nights before making the journey home. It was so nice!

Of course, true to form, my children did not sleep in the car on the way home (well, to be entirely truthful, Dane slept for about 30 min). He had more fun trying to pour all of the cheerios and goldfish out of his snack trap. Fun times!!

It was a wonderful long weekend away and we can't wait for the next trip!

Joel -n- Mary

2011-06-16T21:57:00.000-05:00

I have a new sister-in-law!

The first weekend in June, we were blessed to help Joel and Mary celebrate as they got married! We started off the weekend fun with a rehearsal dinner. Don't they look cute? :) We had a fajita picnic outside....very pretty location!

Kenna decided that she only wanted to eat chips and cheese - dinner of champions I know!

Dane was content to hang out with Uncle Josh!

Yummy food....

Miss Meg actually matched the decor!

Dane really enjoyed his fajitas...he was eating double-fisted!

Saturday brought the wedding fun! Everything was sooo beautiful!

The reception

Dane waiting for the wedding to start and doing what he does best....eating! :)

Gorgeous backdrop for a wedding...

Mercy and Kenna waiting for the wedding to get underway.

Dane hanging out with Shauna....somehow she drew the short straw for keeping the active one year old entertained!Joel and Mary promising to love each other forever.... (I LOVE weddings!)And then cutting into the cupcakes....yummo! We had so much fun celebrating and getting to spend time with all of the family that was able to attend.

CONGRATULATIONS JOEL AND MARY!!

New Toys

2011-06-05T07:35:00.001-05:00

Dane got some great new toys for his birthday and he is already loving all of them! He spends all day bouncing back and forth between everything.

I love his "excited" face. I love how he stretches his neck out and shakes his hands...too cute! He really wishes that it would move on its own though...he keeps trying!

"Let me see if I can make this move...."

He also loves climbing all over his slide.

The only problem is that he doesn't sit down to slide off...he likes to climb over the side.

Of course, one of Dane's newest faves doesn't involve any toys...that is dancing with his sister....and she loves dancing with Dane!

The only problem is that, sometimes, his sister dances a little faster than he does!!

But, that is all okay when she helps him up to dance some more!!
I love watching my kids have fun together!

Picnic at the Pool

2011-06-03T06:27:00.000-05:00

Since we went to the pool last weekend after Dane's birthday party, my little fish Kenna Beth has realized that the pool is now open and it is hot enough to swim...all the things we have spent all winter telling her explaining why we can't go swimming. So now she wants to go ALL THE TIME but I kinda expected that!

So the other night after work, we had a little picnic at the pool. Daniel and his brother had taken the kids over in the late evening to maybe miss some off the worst of the sun. I stopped on my way home from work and picked up a little Chipotle and met everyone at the pool. Both kids ate everything I gave them....swimming makes you hungry!

Dane is walking all over the place these days and doesn't always look down to see where he is going so we decided a life vest would be a good purchase for him. I will still be his shadow but, if he does manage to walk off the edge into the pool, then at least I know he can pop right up!

Doesn't he look so cute!! :)

And this is how Miss K stays the entire time we are there. She is doing such a great job with swimming all over the place with her floaties. I need to get her in swim lessons, but until then, I know that she will be okay as long as she has her floaties on....she will swim from one side of the pool to the other all by herself!!

I see a few more of these fun evenings happening in our future!!!

Celebrating Dane

2011-06-01T21:54:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we had a fun, family-filled party to celebrate Dane's first birthday. We went with a little Noah's ark theme for our "big" baby boy.

We started the party with some good food...burgers straight off the grill. Thanks to Dane's Daddy and Dane's Poppy for doing the grilling. They were great! Even Dane enjoyed it!

Dane had some very generous attendees at his party...and a sister who was more than willing to show him how this opening thing worked! Dane didn't seem to be paying too much attention to the present unwrapping until he found a toy that he was really excited about....How do you get this out of here!!!

Kenna was happy to show off her "2 by 2" Zebra shirt....I thought it fit the party theme quite nicely!

Dane with his cake. If you look closely, you can see Daniel's hand holding on to Dane's arm. And if you look even more closely, you can see where Dane has already taken a corner of the icing off...He just couldn't wait! :)

Kenna was also on hand to show Dane how to blow out his candle.

Who needs cake when you have a giant lion's head balloon!

He wasn't too sure about it after his first bite....

But he quickly discovered how yummy cake can be. He had blue icing in his ears (not to mention all over his hair) when he was through!

After presents and cake, we made a stop at the community pool to welcome in the warmer weather. It was out first trip for the summer and Kenna was quite excited!!

My family....love them!

Thank you to everyone who came to help celebrate Dane's birthday. What a fun day!!!

We're Back!

2011-05-27T06:07:00.005-05:00

Yay!! We have a new camera! We are going to try to get the other one repaired (every time you turn it on it says there is a lens error) so maybe, between the two, we can keep one of them in commission at all times!

Just a few pics of my kiddos since I can!

Who knows when you might need your sunglasses - watching Mickey Mouse and having some apple slices might be one of those times! My little Superman!

Lots planned for the coming weeks. Should have plenty of pics to post then!!

Happy Friday!!!

One

2011-05-21T07:08:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe that the last 365 days have passed so quickly. My baby boy is not a baby anymore!

He was such a sweet little bundle of joy when he was born. Such a calm, observant little guy!

And, once the smiles began, they have never stopped! Daners loves to show his cute little grin and dimples! Dane is always ready to play and really loves to follow his big sister. His favorite toy is anything that has a wheel....not because he wants to roll it on the ground, but because he wants to sit and spin the wheel with his middle two fingers. Still makes me laugh almost every time!

And the baby boy who entered the world a little on the small side is definitely making up for it now. The boy is a garbage can! Anything that can go in his mouth (and some things that shouldn't such as crayons and paper) will. And he has the stomach and thighs to prove it! :)

And now his personality is definitely coming through. Like I said earlier, he is still an observer, but now it is manifested in different ways. At a restaurant, we cannot put his back to the rest of the crowd. Nosy-rosy spends the whole.entire.time we are in the restaurant turned around trying to see what is going on with everyone else. I wonder where he gets that from :)

My other new fav is how he interacts with his sister. They absolutely LOVE each other and will give each other hugs all the time. But Daners has figured out how to push his sister's buttons. He will pick up one of the toys that she is not playing with and then just walk around her in circles, holding on to the toy, until she notices. Cracks.me.up! She will get upset that Dane has one of her toys and he will run off laughing....I see trouble in our future!! :)

I am so thankful for the blessing that Dane Oliver is in our lives and I cannot wait to see what the future brings.

Thanks to my Dane-Man for introducing us to the world of boys - full of cars and balls and smiles and squishy cuddles. We love you!!

Broke

2011-05-16T19:57:00.002-05:00

So I know it has been over a week since I have blogged and there is a very good reason for it....

Our camera broke.

It is a little (okay, more than a little) distressing to me but I guess we will either get it fixed or get a new one soon! Do you know we got that camera on the Mon before Dane was born on Fri. (Because I was completely freaked out about not having a camera in time for Dane's birth)....and now we are are 5 days before Dane's birthday and we are in the same boat.....

So, anyway, we are here and life is going on, but I don't have any photos to go along with the posts!

Hope everyone is having a great week!!!

Baby Curls

2011-05-06T10:03:00.000-05:00

Dane has the cutest (I think) little curls. I love how they curl over his ears and stand up on top of his head. I know that as soon as we give him his first hair cut then they will probably be gone forever! :( Last night, after his bath, I took a few pictures of what Kenna called his messy, messy hair.

Easter 2011

2011-04-29T22:20:00.000-05:00

So I am finally getting around to posting about last weekend! About the time I think I get all caught up, something big comes along that puts me behind again!! :)

The kids and I took off Friday morning to spend some time with family in Snyder for the Easter holiday. We were the first of the family to arrive, so Kenna got to help Gran make some whipping cream. She thought licking the beaters was "quite delicious."

By Saturday afternoon, most of the family was in town so we spent some time with a big egg dying party. Dane decided that this was a great time to practice his vocal skills. He was not mad at all when this picture was snapped - he was just telling everyone exactly what he thought!!

Kenna was very into dyeing the eggs this year - much more so than last year! She wanted to show me every step of the process.

Lots of concentration to get the egg exactly where you want it before dropping it into the dye...

For some reason, I neglected to take any pictures of the finished products! Oh, well!!

Easter Sunday was a gorgeous morning and I loved taking pictures of my precious children!

Such a helpful big sister...trying to make sure he didn't run away! :)

L.O.V.E. this picture of my Kenna Beth....such a sweet smile.Dane didn't want to stand still for too many pictures....he was ready to take off!

Cute grin from my Daners.

All of the great-grandchildren lined up with their Easter goodies.

Kenna understood the concept of hunting eggs better this year as well....she knew that there was candy involved!

Dane just thought it was fun to run around without any shoes.

Uncle Cade was a great help when it came to finding those hard to find eggs.

A picture of the Hooten clan...this was about as good as it got...

...and now you can see what most of the other pictures really looked like! I think this is greatness!!!

Poppy, Mimzi, and Dane

Poppy, Mimzi, and Kenna

We tried to get a picture of Gran with all of her great-grandchildren....you can see how well that turned out! :) I love how Kenna is holding onto Dane.

All of the excitement of the weekend just completely wore my two kiddos out. And the kids who did not sleep at all on the trip to Snyder both slept an hour on the way home....I'll take it!

Once Kenna woke up, she was quite content to watch Mickey Mouse, etc. and wear her headphones. She loves those headphones - which means I can listen to the radio while driving and she can watch her shows. We got into some pretty heavy rain on the way home...look how dark it is out the window...and it was 3 in the afternoon!

And, if you noticed, Daniel was not in any of our Easter pics. That is because he spent over a week in Graham/Possum Kingdom helping with the wildfires. We drove through Graham both times so I took a picture of the "headquarters." He was not there at that point, but that was where he began and ended every day. Too bad we didn't get to at least wave at each other since we were so close!

Whew...that was a lot of photos to post! We had a wonderful Easter holiday (except for the fact that we were missing Daddy) - hope everyone else did as well!!

Force-fed

2011-04-21T06:03:00.000-05:00

I made a comment on facebook a few weeks ago that has repeated itself over and over and over this past week...thought I would post the whole story.

For her birthday, Kenna received the game "Hi-Ho Cherry-o" and promptly fell in love. The only problem with this game is that it is played with several tiny cherries that I am sure Senor Dane would put directly in his mouth - that is where everything goes these days! The rule became that we would play this game as soon as Dane went to bed. It didn't take long before Kenna started asking if it was time for Dane to go to bed...and that question usually came shortly after walking in the door and eating dinner. And then it came again every 15 seconds or so until it really was time for Dane to go to bed. A few nights ago, she decided that Dane was not finishing his night time bottle fast enough for her and thought she would help speed up the process. When that didn't go as well as she thought it should, she took matters into her own hands....literally. :)

Guess she was ready to play!

Future Drummer?

2011-04-19T20:21:00.004-05:00

This past Saturday was one of the first, in a long time, that my family was able to just "hang out" for a little bit. While we have really enjoyed all of the activities, trips, and birthday parties over the last few months, there is something really nice about being lazy on a Saturday morning!

After spending quite a bit of time drawing and coloring with my new 3 year old, everybody ended up on the floor playing (and, yes, they were both still in their pajamas). Dane found Kenna's belly and decided he needed to play the drums. Luckily, for now at least, big sister thought this was pretty funny!

So thankful for time I get to spend with my two little cuties!

Week in Review

2011-04-15T06:14:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would post some "leftover" pictures from this past week! The other day I had finished feeding Dane his dinner and had walked over to the sink to get a rag to wipe the spaghetti off of his face. Kenna had been digging around in the pantry and told me that she was going to get Dane some puffs. This is what I found when I turned around..... That container had been about 2/3 full! She was so proud of herself for helping and Dane was in heaven with all that food!!

After Kenna's birthday party we had to throw all of the kiddos in the bath...doesn't that look like fun!

For Kenna's birthday, Daniel and I got her a bike. He was so excited about letting her help him put it together....they had a blast!

What a great daddy/daughter project! (I have to admit I was quite skeptical about this plan at the beginning!)

Sunday after naps, we all ventured out to enjoy the beautiful weather - the calm before the storm I guess you could say - and Kenna convinced her Daddy that they needed to break in some of the chalk she had gotten for her birthday....such artists!

Dane had his own version of chalk art - on his pants!

I L.O.V.E. this picture of my baby boy! He has such a cute belly that is especially adorable after a bottle. I wish I had done this as a video instead of a still photo because he was patting his belly, smiling, and moaning (that "I'm so full" moan)....it was great!!

Okay, I think I am all caught up....For now at least!!!

Hail Damage

2011-04-13T20:26:00.005-05:00

As some of you may have heard....our area got a little thunderstorm excitement a few nights ago!! What started out as a little thunderstorm that was giving us a good lightening show quickly turned into something a whole lot more!! A little after midnight on Monday, it sounded like our roof was going to cave in as our neighborhood was pelted with golf ball to baseball size hail. It was SOOOO LOUD! Amazingly, Dane slept through the entire thing. Kenna just thought it was some really loud rain and said that the raindrops needed to quit stomping so loudly - and then went right back to sleep as soon as the hailing stopped. (Lucky us!) After the storm passed, we all went back to sleep. We ventured out the next morning to survey the damage..... Thankfully, our windows are double paned and the inside pane did not shatter....no water in the living room!! This picture was taken from inside our attic looking up at the attic vent....yes, that is sky you are seeing!

And our fence now looks like it is speckled. Those hail stones made some nice dings!

Thank goodness both of our cars were in the garage so they survived without any problems. The word is that, not only are we are going to have to make the obvious repairs (what you see in the pictures), but we are also going to have to replace our entire roof and gutter system - they are shot! I didn't ask Daniel to take a picture of those while he was up checking everything out - I didn't this post to include anything about a fall from the roof!! Daniel and Nathan got up there yesterday and got most everything patched up so we should be okay if it rains. The insurance people have already said they are ready to pay to get everything fixed as soon as we get an estimate from the roofer on Friday. That is definitely a blessing!

Now the question becomes - do you think our home owner's insurance will pay to replace my $20 lawn chair from Target that I use when I lay out in the sun? :)

Potato Head Birthday

2011-04-11T20:47:00.009-05:00

Saturday, April 9, was a VERY exciting day in our house....it was FINALLY Kenna's birthday!! Kenna has been talking about this day for weeks and was bouncing on the bed the minute she realized that it was officially the day! (I can't believe that my little girl is 3!! Where has the time gone!?!) What better way to start your birthday celebration than with donuts. Kenna was so happy that Poppy was going to get her donuts - and then she decided that she needed to go help him and Abbye needed to go also. Of course, they needed them right that second so they headed out to the donut shop in pajamas and shoes. They looked so cute!

And then it was party time!!!!

JD's birthday is 6 days (and a year) before Kenna's so we decided to jointly celebrate this year with a Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head Party. We had so much fun!!

Have to give a shout out to my friend Kristi for the great party designs!

The Potato Head birthday kids ready to party!

And then they were off.....

We had the party at a gymnastics place and all of the kids had a blast! Kenna was like a little energizer bunny on speed. She was in motion the whole.entire.time we were there. I couldn't even get a great picture of her on the trampoline because she wouldn't get still for very long!

All of the kids were yelling Happy Birthday to JD and Kenna.

Kenna showing that she is now 3.....

...and JD showing his new #4.

Dane was there to celebrate with his big sister - he roamed along the edges of the mats and ventured out on his own occasionally.

Anson also ventured out on his own...usually into places where he got a little stuck! :)

What could be more fun than a foam pit with bubbles!!

Maybe a foam pit with a slide!!!

Somehow Anson found his way into this one too.....Abbye making her way out of the blocks.And then it was time to sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candles....Both kids digging into their cake...I love how JD couldn't even wait for his fork! We had a wonderful day celebrating their birthdays and thanks to all of the families that came to party with us. I can't wait to experience the next year with my little princess!!

Crash and Burn

2011-04-07T20:11:00.002-05:00

My little Daners wants to be a real walker SO BADLY!!! He has been cruising around our furniture for weeks now and is getting more and more brave about trying to let go and take a few steps. He can actually go anywhere between 2-4 steps before he topples over. For the last week, anytime the object he was going for was more than 4 steps away, he would just drop to the floor and crawl before pulling himself back up. But now he has decided that he needs to be a little more adventurous. Now, instead of crawling for his play table/toy/etc., he will take his 4 steps and then try to dive the rest of the way. This plan works great if you are diving to Mommy or Daddy. But, if you are going for your sister's dollhouse, things don't go so well..... I couldn't get a great picture because, once he finished crying, he was much more interested in trying to put the camera in his mouth than showing me his injuries.

You can't see his bruise very well in this picture, but, who can resist that sweet little mouth!?!

Since we have now entered the world of rough and tumble boys, I am sure this will not be the last shiner in our house!! :)

Abbye's Birthday Party

2011-04-05T06:30:00.006-05:00

The kids and I took off to Muleshoe/Lubbock this weekend to help celebrate the 3rd birthday of sweet Abbye Cate. Daniel is back to his 24/48 schedule so he had to stay home without us (I'm sure he was very sad! ) We made a road trip this time...and it wasn't too bad! For whatever reason, BOTH of my kids missed getting the "always able to sleep in the car gene" so that can make long car trips a little interesting. In the almost 6 hours it took us to get to Lubbock on Friday afternoon Dane slept 30 min and Kenna never closed her eyes. Yep, means lots of entertaining from Mom! We met the birthday girl and all of the family at Chuck E. Cheese for a little celebrating and playtime. It definitely was a nice break after a long time in the car. Dane got to have his first taste of pizza, and in true Dane fashion, L.O.V.E.D it! I love this picture...."I may only have 5 teeth, but I am not afraid to use them!" The girls enjoyed their pizza as well, but they were much more interested in the cupcakes sitting right in front of them.

Finally cupcake time! And, of course, you know they had to pick blue!

Time for a trip to the bathroom to visit the sink!

Saturday morning, Kenna spent a little time helping Poppy sweep up the garage.

She was a great helper!!

Abbye's birthday party was a bike/scooter/jump house party in the gym of their church building. Kenna had fun trying out Abbye's tricycle.

Dane had his own toy to play with and led his great-grandpa on several circles around the room.

Mommy and Kenna got to try out the bounce house together before the other guests arrived....fun, fun!

Cute Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake!

Dane really wanted to join in on the fun in the bounce house!

He also convinced Aunt Kyla that he needed a turn on the tricycle. (He wasn't really riding - I just snapped a quick picture - he isn't that big yet!!)

Abbye getting ready to blow out her candles - sorry, best picture I could get of the birthday girl.

Dane finally got his chance in the bounce house! He thought it was so much fun!

We split the return trip up by spending the night with my grandmother on Saturday night before heading home on Sunday. We had a lot of fun and can't wait to have a party of our own this weekend to celebrate with Kenna and JD!

Weekend Recap

2011-03-30T20:51:00.000-05:00

My little family had a fun and busy weekend this past weekend! My cousin, Courtney, and her boyfriend, Tyler, came into town to join me in running the Rock n Roll Half Marathon. We met up Friday afternoon to pick up all our race packets and info. After touring around the exhibits and getting all of our goodies, we all went to eat dinner. Dane LOVED hanging out with Tyler. He kept looking at him and grinning. It was so cute! I didn't order Dane any food because I had brought some baby food with us....but my big boy seems to be getting tired of baby food and wants the real stuff! After polishing off a tub of mangos and then chowing down on cheerios and yogurt melts, he dove into Kenna's cheese quesadillas....and ate, and ate, and ate! He ended up eating more of her dinner than she did! Yea! They finally gave me some real food! I wonder how much of this I can put in my mouth at one time?

Something is going on over there, but I don't want to take this delicious food out of my mouth!

When Kenna saw me taking pictures of Dane and his food, she decided that she needed a picture with her quesadilla as well....but she wouldn't smile while she was doing it! :)

Daniel was going to have to work the day of the race and wasn't able to take off. Because I was going to be down in Dallas so early in the morning, Kenna and Dane had a cousin sleepover with JD and Meg. We all went to dinner together, and then while the guys were at the hockey game, Mandy and I put all of the kids to bed. It actually went better than I was anticipating - even if Miss K decided she needed to stay up until almost 10 whispering - but everybody slept all night and didn't wake up until after 7. I think I would call that at least a minor success!

The race was Sunday morning and was a lot of fun. My goal was to finish in under 2 hours and 30 min and I did it in 2.25 so I was pretty happy. I slowed down a lot more at the end then I had intended, but, I'll take it! It was a goal I had set at the beginning of January so it was nice to say that I had accomplished it! Too bad I didn't have a photographer so I don't really have any pictures.

After I picked up my children from their sleepover, we did some playing at home. Well, to be honest, Mommy mostly sat on the floor and kept the play going....not much moving from me at that point! Kenna was more than happy to smile for the camera that day!

Dane had a lot of fun laughing at his big sister....

....and trying to get the toys she kept holding right out of his reach....little stinker!

And then he saw the camera!

All in all, a great weekend!

Time to Catch-up

2011-03-23T20:48:00.003-05:00

So once again I have been a blog slacker but I feel like I at least have a legitimate excuse this time...actually several good excuses!

The first is that Miss K has a new friend! We have tried several different times in the last year to potty train our little princess, but she wanted NOTHING to do with it. This time was a little different. I guess she really was "ready" because it took two days for her to figure it out. She loves her Elmo potty and is doing a great job. She has only had one accident in the last 3 weeks. We still put her in diapers at night because we haven't exactly mastered that part but I think that will be coming soon. She is dry 4 out of 5 nights so we are definitely headed in the right direction. Way to go Kenna!

Dane is now officially 10 months old and has been "celebrating" by eating and eating and eating. Kenna is very protective of her snacks because, if she lays them down, AT ALL, they are gone for good. Dane is like a little predator stalking his prey! :) He is cruising all over the living room - as long as he has something to hold on to - looking for lost snacks! He has the cheeks and thighs to prove it!

This past weekend, Daniel's grandparents from Colorado were here for a visit. Daniel shares his middle name with his grandfather and they have the same initials - the same ones we passed on the Dane. We had to take the opportunity to get a picture with the 3 DOBs. (I'm not sure why Dane wouldn't look at the camera).

I also like the picture of 4 generations of Boyd men.

Kenna and I missed out on all of the festivities of the weekend because she was running a fever and had a rash all weekend long. We did LOTS of cuddling on the couch and watched way more TV than normal. I am now very well educated in all of the antics of Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears (Thank you Netflix). Daniel took her to the doctor on Monday for her official diagnosis of Strep Throat/Scarlet Fever (yes, her PA mommy did call that one). I am very blessed to have really healthy kids - this is only her second stint on antibiotics. The downside to all that cuddling - she passed her illness on to Mommy - and passed it on to Daddy. Mimzi and Poppy bit the dust as well. That was one powerful strep bug! Thankfully little kids under 2 have a really don't get strep throat (Dane has been happy as a clam this whole time) and antibiotics work remarkably well on a confirmed case of strep! Everyone was pretty much back to 100% today....thank goodness!

So there you have it. The update that has been coming for a long time...sorry about that! I'll try to do better soon!

Only on Paper

2011-03-13T08:30:00.000-05:00

From the moment that Kenna started using crayons, etc, Daniel has beat into her head the mantra of "you only color on paper." She will even tell you as she colors that you are only supposed to color on paper. And, up until Friday, she has always done exactly that.

Daniel wasn't quite home from work yet, Dane was sitting in the high chair finishing up his dinner, and Kenna Beth was enjoying her art work. She L.O.V.E.S. to color and paint. I was on call for the weekend and had already spent almost 20 min on the phone with a patient trying to explain what we were going to do to fix her broken knee cap and elbow. I guess that 15 min was about all the Kenna could handle of "being good while Mommy talks on the phone" and those last 5 minutes apparently just called out for self decoration.

She did a pretty good job.....

These pictures were taken after she was released from time-out when Daddy got home. I love the faces! She has already told me several times (and Mimzi on the phone) that from now on she will only color on paper.

I guess it was bound to happen, right?

Seeing Clearly

2011-03-11T20:08:00.004-06:00

Dane got to make his first visit to the eye doctor today. For the last few months (actually, since we took pictures for our Christmas card), I have noticed - and had a few people mention - that Dane looks a little cross-eyed.

Here is the picture that started it all. I guess it looks like his left eye is turning in just a bit. I decided to mention it to our pediatrician when we went in for his 9 month check. He said that he didn't really think it was true strabismus but thought it had more to do with the fold of skin by his eye that made him appear to be cross-eyed. But he said he would rather have him checked out because, if it was in fact strabismus, it would only get worse.

So we made an appointment with a pedi ophthalmologist.

The doctor had some great toys that Dane really enjoyed focusing on....good way to do an eye exam on a 9 month old! He said that the measurements of Dane's eyes looked great and he thought that everything was good but wanted to do one more thing to check and see if he was far-sighted/near-sighted. The part that surprised me was that he wanted to dilate his eyes. I don't know why I didn't think about that! Dr. L said that everything was perfect and that Dane was exactly where he should be for his age. He said that Dane had pseudostrabismus - basically his eyes look a little crossed now because of having a "baby face" but that will get better and better as he grows. Thank goodness for good reports!!

After giving Dane a completely clean bill of health, we left the office with some stylin' sunglasses!

Don't you wish you could have some of these!?!

Flying Solo

2011-03-09T06:10:00.005-06:00

This past weekend, the kids and I flew out to visit my family. My cousin, Brooke, was having a baby shower on Sunday and I wanted to be there to help shower Brooke and her soon to arrive baby girl, Brodye Shea, with love! Daniel needed to stay home so the kids and I took to the friendly skies!

Kenna has actually flown several times and took her first plane ride when she was only 3 weeks old. The two of us have made the trip from Dallas to Lubbock several times. But this was the first trip for Senor Dane.....and that made it my first trip flying with both of my cute kiddos!

I was a little nervous about getting through security but the man in charge of our line was very helpful and made it a painless process. Dane just enjoyed riding in the stroller and looking at all of the new things! I kinda bribed Kenna with candy....that's okay....you can judge me now! I promised her that if she completely listened and obeyed Mommy then she could have some candy when we got on the plane. She clutched her prized possessions close to her heart!!

She was very excited about flying into "outer space."

Stroller picture fun while waiting to board the plane....

Airport self-portrait...

Kenna was very excited when our plane actually arrived...she wanted to climb right on!

Did you notice her choice of reading materials?

Saturday we had a blast just spending time with the family in Muleshoe. Apparently we wore Dane out! He was too tired to even lay all the way down!!

Kenna got to go on the slides with Aunt Kyla.....

....and play with "Howdy the cow" with Uncle Cade.

Brooke and Brodye had a great shower on Sunday and received lots of goodies, but, of course, I failed to take any pictures!

Now that we got one solo parent flight in the books, I don't think I will be too hesitant to do it again. I had fun with my two little chickadees!

Saturday Fun

2011-02-26T20:24:00.008-06:00

What a great day we have had!

Today we started off the day by taking Miss K to her very first gymnastics class. It took her a little bit to get warmed up to Coach Sarah but after the first 5-10 minutes she was ready to go! She did keep looking over to the window into the lobby where I was waiting to make sure that I was watching. It was kinda hard to take pictures through the glass but I tried! They are just opening up this 3 yr old class for Saturday mornings and, for today at least, Kenna was the only on in the class. Gotta love private lessons for group lesson rates!

She did great on the balance beam. I was really impressed. She was barely holding onto her coach's hand at all. I love this picture of her belly. She is not a shy eater. :)

After it was over she told me that she could not wait to go back to "fish sticks" again. :)

Kenna and I got home in time to see Dane wake up from his morning nap. L.O.V.E. the hair.

He's really working the spiked 'do.

Then tonight, we went to watch two of Daniel's brothers play in the 2nd annual Allen Police vs. Allen Fire. It was so much fun!!

Nathan

Jon

Kenna enjoyed standing right next to the glass....had to stay close to the action! This picture was taken right before Daniel decided to teach Kenna how to beat on the glass. She thought that was great fun.

Dane and his Daddy...love my guys!!

Face off - Nathan (#62) is facing off with the Police guy while Jon (#21) is ready for the puck.

The score was tied at the end of regulation so we went to a shoot out.

Nathan was one of the 5 chosen to shoot at the goal for the Fire Dept....this is right before he sent the puck into the net. Way to Go Nate!

Congratulations to the Fire Dept for winning the game in the shootout (3-1)! Great job!!

(Sorry I didn't get a better group shot at the end....didn't get close enough)
And now my two babies are both tucked into their beds dreaming sweet dreams. Fun Saturday with family.

9 months

2011-02-21T20:09:00.002-06:00

Today is Dane's 9-month birthday....where has the time gone!! He is such a precious little boy that always has a smile (complete with a cute little dimple) at the ready. He L.O.V.E.S. to eat - as witnessed by all of the stains on his shirt - and would eat all day long if we would let him! He hasn't decided to crawl on his hands and knees yet but has a super fast army crawl that will get him everywhere he needs to go. I need to get a picture of him crawling on our tile though....he doesn't like the cold so he picks his tummy and legs up off the ground and does this funny bear crawl. He loves to stand up and can pull up on pretty much anything...even big sister's toys.

I will post his official weight/height stats on Fri when he goes for his 9 month check. I have a feeling he will be short and stocky...but I love my roly-poly Daners!! :)

Starting Early

2011-02-08T06:18:00.004-06:00

My husband does not hide the fact that he really likes a good steak. He has always been a "meat and potatoes" type of guy. Apparently his son is following in his footsteps.

Saturday night, Jon, Mandy, and kids, came over for dinner and the guys cooked a delicious meal. We set the kids up with a Wiggles video and then sat down to enjoy our steak, baked potatoes, homemade lobster mac and cheese, and asparagus....yummy! Dane is not really into the Wiggles yet and came into the dining room with us to play and crawl around. He kept crawling under the table and then getting stuck so I picked him up and put him in my lap for a bit. He would grab at my plate...I would hand him my spoon. He would drop it, grab at my plate, and I would hand him my spoon. (you get the picture) Well, eventually he got what he wanted. I guess he was a hungry!

He was quite upset that I didn't just let him gnaw on it forever (I took it away after the pictures)....can't fault the guy for wanting a good steak!

My Kiddos

2011-02-04T14:28:00.001-06:00

Just some fun pictures of my little ones doing what they do best....playing!!

Dane is now all over the place. He is not crawling on his hands and knees but can scoot/army crawl pretty much anywhere he wants to go. The other day that included inside the exersaucer. He wasn't too happy about getting stuck there but has since learned how to crawl back out the other side. Kenna is growing up way too fast! We laugh and laugh at the things she says and does. She has such a fun personality!! I don't even know what to say about this picture....mardi gras mask, Belle dress up clothes, and pajamas....makes a great combination don't you think?

Lovin' Life with my sweeties!!

Trip to the Zoo

2011-02-02T14:02:00.005-06:00

On Saturday, Kenna and I decided to make the most of the gorgeous January day and headed out for a Mother/daughter date to the Fort Worth Zoo. We loaded up the wagon and we were ready to go! Kenna LOVED pulling the wagon and being able to walk pretty much wherever she wanted as long as Mommy was close. She wanted to get as close as possible to the big gorilla.

And she thought the giraffes were pretty cool too!

The fish were a few of her favorite things. She made sure to point out Dorie and Nemo.

She had to take a walking break after a little while so that she could have a snack. But she didn't want to quit looking at all of the animals. She was a girl on a mission!

She was so much fun to watch on the carousel! She kept yelling "Wee."

Personally, I thought we were a little close to the alligator and the turtle, but Kenna loved it!

We had to finish off the trip with a visit to the snakes (not my favorite part). I'm not sure why she is scowling in this picture.

I didn't get very many good pictures of her smiling/looking at me because she was too busy watching all the animals. She had a blast! I can't wait to take her back someday!

Trouble Maker

2011-01-29T07:16:00.000-06:00

Look at this face...doesn't he look so innocent!! Well, don't let the cute grin fool you. This little boy has become quite the trouble maker at Miss Tara's house. :0)

Two different days in the last week I have picked the kids up from day care and Kenna has been quick to inform me that Dane has been a "bad boy." The first day he kept knocking down all the castles that everyone was building with their blocks. The second day he had made a quick trip across the living room to the kitchen to try to steal a fish stick off the tray of Georgia's booster seat. She was not happy that Dane had her food! (Don't worry...Miss Tara quickly returned the food to its rightful owner).

Of course, this is what he does when Kenna tries to play with her puzzles and such...he gets right in the middle of everything...so I can't say that I am too surprised!! And so it begins.....Life with a Little Boy!!!

Kenna Cooks!!!

2011-01-27T06:54:00.006-06:00

Kenna got in the car Tuesday night and said that she wanted eggs for dinner. She very emphatically told me that she wanted eggs and cheese for dinner. Alrighty then!

When we got home, she told me that she wanted Daddy to help her cook eggs. Again, Alrighty then!!

Here are the pictures of Kenna (and Daddy) cooking dinner!!

Kenna was very into cracking the eggs so we let her crack 5...2 for daddy, 2 for mommy, and 1 for Miss K.

She got eggs on her finger and she wanted me to take a picture of her dirty fingers. :)

Gotta add some cheese!!

Do you see the piece of cheese on her chin? She sampled the cheese before adding it to the eggs.

Gotta taste the butter too!

She even dished up her own food...after picking out which plate she wanted to use!

Taste Test!

Yummy!! So yummy that she ended up eating ALL FIVE EGGS that we cooked. We would give her a little, she would scarf it down, and then ask for more.

Dane was perfectly content to sit and watch the proceedings and chew on his rice rusks. He LOVES them!

He tries to put several in his mouth at a time...haha!!

Kenna and Daddy both had a blast and I can see this happening many more times in the future!!

New Orleans Fun

2011-01-25T20:06:00.006-06:00

I don't know what happened but I have become such a blog slacker this month! Don't worry, I will try to get caught up!

My wonderful husband let me play "mommy hooky" for a few days and I took off for New Orleans with three of the girls in my book club. (we were so sad that 3 others stayed home). We had SO MUCH FUN!!

When our plane landed, we checked into the hotel and then headed straight to Cafe Du Monde. What better way to start the trip than beignets and cafe au lait! (I must confess that this was not our only stop at this restaurant during the trip....yummo)

Emily, Mandy, and Krystal enjoying beignets.

We spent time walking around the French Market.

We took a carriage ride around the French Quarter.

We spent some time in Jackson Square....all in the first day!

We went to Bayona for dinner and it was AMAZING!

Look at the size (thickness) or my pork chop! And the desserts were to die for!

We started the next day with brunch at Brennan's....original home of Bananas Foster....so of course that is what we had to order!

We then took the trolley over to the Garden district to tour some of the homes over there. They were gorgeous!

We had a wonderful time and I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with all these girls. It was great!

I really missed my kiddos but daddy did a great job watching them. I bought Kenna a Mardi Gras mask...what do you think?

Year 6

2011-01-08T06:53:00.000-06:00

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary...

Wow! I can't believe that it has already been that long! I posted pictures of our wedding last year. I can honestly say that I love Daniel more and more every day and cannot imagine being married to a more perfect person for me. He is such a wonderful husband and father and I am ready to see what our next year together brings!

Love ya babe!!

New Year's Eve Recap

2011-01-06T19:43:00.000-06:00

Daniel and I were very excited to have a fun family filled game night on New Year's Eve. Almost the entire Boyd clan was in attendance and all brought their competitive spirits! After some foosball and ping-pong upstairs, the games moved down and got serious.

There was a cut-throat game of Uno....(Love this picture of Kenna sitting in Solomon's lap) ....a brain-teasing game of Trivial Pursuit (won by Josh).....

...and it all ended with a game of Apples to Apples involving all 13 people.

When the clock hit midnight, we celebrated with some party hats, noisemakers (which remarkably did not wake up my children), and sparkling cider.

Gerry and Ouida toasting the New Year.

We may have just started a new tradition!!

Christmas 2010 in Review

2011-01-01T16:00:00.000-06:00

Hold on to your hats, folks, this is a picture filled post!

Santa made an early delivery at our house the weekend before Christmas. Apparently he was not going to have room in his sleigh for Kenna's new play kitchen so he decided to drop it off a little early. Kenna didn't mind! It didn't take her long to start cooking away!

When we got to Muleshoe, we tried to take a picture of all of the cousins in front of the tree. I love how the girls are both trying to muscle their brothers into place.

Not too bad!

It did not take Kenna long to learn that she really liked opening presents!

Dane showing off one of his new outfits.

We were trying to keep Anson out of trouble! He kept trying to put all of the wrapping paper, tissue, etc into his mouth.

Kenna got a pink cowboy hat from Poppy - she keeps walking around, tipping her hat at everyone, "Howdy Partner!"

My precious little boy just scooted his way right over to all of the lights and presents. He is officially on the move! (And who could resist that grin!)

Christmas Eve means making cookies for Santa and my Mom had two little girls who were more than happy to help!

Rolling out the cookie dough.

Using the cookie cutters requires lots and lots of concentration!

Time to decorate...first the icing Now some sprinkles....And more sprinkles.... (She pretty much emptied the whole bottle)

I know this is a blurry picture and it is not even Kenna's most decorated cookie...just wanted to give you an idea of how many sprinkles she was putting on each cookie.

Mommy and Kenna decorating cookies for Santa.

There were sprinkles EVERYWHERE! Kenna's feet were stained (yes, stained) like this for 3 days. Milk and Cookies are all ready.

Santa Came!!!

Two little girls ready to see if Santa brought them any presents.

Kenna and Dane's must have been really good this year!!

Kenna got busy cooking right away.

Santa also remembered Kenna's sunglasses obsession and brought her some cool new shades.

Dane was very excited to have some actual new boy toys instead of his sister's leftovers!!

We had some sleepy kids on the way home! Of course, Kenna only slept about 45 min, but that is 45 min longer than she slept on the way there so she must have been worn out!!

Daniel was a master packer but I'm not sure we could have fit much more stuff in the back of the Commander.

Whew....I'm tired just thinking about it all again...and this doesn't even include the two Christmases at each of my grandparents (I didn't take any pictures)! What a GREAT Christmas we had!

From Our Family to Yours

2010-12-25T06:39:00.002-06:00

Miss Independence

2010-12-18T20:27:00.003-06:00

For the last week or two, Kenna has been really "practicing" taking her clothes on and off by herself. She also wants to be the one to read the books and everything else. We are definitely in a "I do it!" phase.

Last week, Daniel and I were getting ready for bed and went in to check on Miss K before we went to sleep. This is what we found..... We had not heard much noise coming from her room, but I guess she decided that she needed to play with her Rangers hat and then take off her pajamas.

Apparently, she needed a little more reading as well.

She barely woke up when we tried to put her PJs back on....I can't believe that she could fall asleep this way!

Visit with Santa

2010-12-11T20:53:00.004-06:00

This morning we had some fun family time and went out for breakfast and then a visit with Santa. Kenna LOVES breakfast food and would not stop eating her pancakes and omelet long enough to smile at the camera. Look at that craziness on her head!

There was a great balloon artist making the rounds and taking donations for Samaritan's Purse. Kenna loved her Rudolph hat and was glad that it didn't interfere with her food consumption!

After breakfast, we headed down to Willow Bend to visit with Santa Claus. They had a wonderful Narnia display and even had fake snow falling while we were waiting our turn.

Kenna wanted to do somersaults on the snow but Mommy had to put a stop to that one! :)

She thought it was fun to look up into the light and the falling snow. I don't have any pictures of Dane because he and Daddy were hanging out on the benches outside...just people watching and enjoying his bottle.

I thought their picture turned out pretty well! The Santa was great and called them each by name as they walked up. Kenna told him that she wanted Kenna presents in the snowman (her stocking has a snowman on it) and Dane presents in the moose (his stocking). She also told him to put Mommy presents in the green one and Daddy presents in the red one. Santa told her that he thought he could probably take care of that and there would be lots of presents in all of the stockings. :)

Merry Christmas!

"I need in there with him"

2010-12-08T08:52:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, my kiddos got to spend some quality time with their Daddy. It was the first full day the three of them had spent at home together since Daniel's surgery (Sept 29) and it sounds

like they had a good day. About halfway through the morning, Daniel sent me these pictures. When he and Kenna went in to get Dane, she insisted on getting in the bed with Dane. She loves being in bed with her brother (or pretty much anywhere with him) and will tell us over and over again that she needs in bed with him. I love that she enjoys her brother so much.

... and I love PJ pics!!

My Little Gangsta

2010-12-05T21:48:00.002-06:00

Just because I haven't posted in a while, I thought I would add a recent picture of Kenna. I took this picture on the way to work the other day. Daniel said it is a picture of his little gangsta giving a shout out to her homies.....

Serenade by Kenna

2010-11-23T08:10:00.000-06:00

As I have mentioned before, Kenna is very into music. She loves to sing and dance and play any instrument that you give her. She is also a girl who really likes her routine....so every night, before bed time (or before you can leave our house if you have come to visit....Ask Uncle Nate) Kenna grabs her guitar and hat and puts on a concert. Hope you enjoy!!

6 months old!!

2010-11-21T18:09:00.004-06:00

I can't believe that my baby boy is already 6 months old!! He is such a precious joy to be around and we love his happy personality. His two all-time favorite activities are smiling/laughing and bouncing in his jumper. I think he would jump all day long if we would let him! He has two teeth and really likes to chew on everything...be careful though, those teeth are sharp! He has started sitting up on his own but will still tumble every now and again.

He went to the doctor earlier this week for his 6 month check and weighed in at 17 lbs (44%) and 25.5 in (22%) so he has maintained his "short and stocky" status!

Happy Half-Birthday Daners!!

Kenna's First Haircut and My Solo Trip to Muleshoe

2010-11-16T21:41:00.007-06:00

My Mom's birthday was yesterday and it had been too long since we had made a trip to Muleshoe so I decided that it was time for a visit! Daniel is doing much better but was still not up to an almost 7 hour car ride (one-way) so I got brave and went on my own.

We were an hour into our trip and both of my kiddos were sleeping away in the cloudy weather.

I got a little too cocky and took pictures of how well our trip was going. Of course, that meant that they both woke up not too long after that. Well, actually, Dane woke up and then his fussing woke his sister. After that they were both up for the remainder of the drive. Dane slept a total of 40 minutes and Kenna slept for about an hour. Not at all what I was planning on! Luckily, Kenna remained completely entertained with the DVD player and her snacks. Dane required a little more attention but, overall, he wasn't too bad. His fussing actually got me out of a ticket (I think) when I got to stop and chat with the nice man who said I was driving a little too fast. Dane was wailing by the time he came up to the window so I think he gave me a break! I definitely slowed down after that... :)

We pulled into Muleshoe and drove to my sister-in-law's new hair salon. She and her partners recently moved locations and it was fun to see what they have started doing to the new place! We got there in time to surprise my mother, who had no idea that we were coming. She was getting her hair done and sat up to see me and my two kids standing there....I love surprises!!

Even though Kyla had already been working all day and it was after 7, she was nice enough to give Kenna her first haircut....ever! I can't believe that she is over 2.5 years old and has never had a haircut. You can blame her daddy for that one. He was still not too thrilled with the idea but made me promise not to cut it too short and to not give her bangs!

I did a good job and didn't even cry! Kenna loved pointing out all the colors on her cape to her Poppy.

She was so still and cooperative! I wasn't sure how she would react but she did really well.

"The Men" - watching all the hair drama...(Cade/Dane, Dad/Anson)

I loved the grin on Dane's face in this one!

Kenna loved the way her hair turned out. On Monday morning, after we were back home, she told me that I didn't need to brush her hair at all because "Kywa already made it pretty!"

I was really happy with the way it turned out!

On Saturday, we spent the day hanging out at my parents house and going to look at Cade and Kyla's new home...fun, fun!

Dane got some sweet cuddling in with his great-grandmother.

And this is what happens when Uncle Cade finds out that his two nieces are supposed to be taking a nap on Poppy and Mimzi's bed....he has to go get them all riled up! Just wait Cade...you will have kids of your own someday!!! :)

As one of the main reasons for our trip, Kenna and Abbye were more than happy to help Mimzi blow out her candles. They did a great job!!!

The trip home was much better than on the way up there. Kenna still only slept for about an hour but that seems to be her sleeping limit in the car seat. Dane, on the other hand, slept for over 3 hours! We were all very glad to get out of the car when we got home.

Overall, it was a great adventure!!!

Daniel's Beard

2010-11-10T21:10:00.002-06:00

I really can't believe that it has been almost two weeks since I posted! I'm not really sure what has been going on - other than staying crazy busy taking care of these three! :) Daniel is actually doing really well following his surgery. He is officially 6 weeks out (today) and is slowly starting to be able to do more things. He is still on crutches but is now allowed to put about 50% of his body weight on his left leg (yea!). Now, he gets to lose the brace that has been his near constant companion and the wonderful (can you read the sarcasm?) CPM machine also disappeared last week. He is definitely on the mend!

Since he hasn't been going to work (since the beginning of Sept.) he has also not been shaving. He has not shaved since the day before his surgery on Sept. 29th. Here is my bearded hubby...

...trying to look intellectual. :)

And just because I love pictures of little babies sleeping with their bottoms in the air.....

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T21:01:00.003-05:00

My two little kiddos were such cute little football kids! Kenna was an A&M cheerleader and did a great job saying "Gig 'Em" and "touchdown." (You can watch the video from my previous post to see her practicing doing the thumbs up). Dane was an adorable little football. I was trying to get a picture of Dane where you could see his entire costume but he was not interested in looking at the camera. Doesn't he make a great football!?!

Kenna LOVED shaking her pom-poms and only gave them up after the first two trunks when she realized what was being put in her bucket. After that Mommy held the pom-poms while Kenna trunk or treated. She became quite the expert!

Dane just chilled in the stroller - well, he wasn't actually chilling, he was roasting! - We didn't leave the football costume on too long because it was 82 degrees outside.

One more picture of my two cutie-pies!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Gig 'Em Aggies!

2010-10-30T21:21:00.003-05:00

As I have posted previously, Kenna is in LOVE with her sunglasses. She recently decided that Dane needed to wear his glasses too and she was going to be the one to put them on him. He wasn't as big of a fan...

Kenna has been practicing the last few weeks saying "Gig 'Em Aggies." She has had the hardest time learning how to do the thumbs up. For the longest time, she has been sticking her pointer finger out instead of her thumb, and, when she does get her thumb out, her finger doesn't stay in and she does the guns up instead. But apparently she has finally figured out a way to get it done (And you even get to hear one of the two phrases most commonly heard at our house these days..."I don't need help"...the other is "I do it all by myself!")

On the Move

2010-10-26T20:41:00.006-05:00

Dane Oliver is officially on the move. He started rolling over a few weeks after he hit four months old but was very content to roll from his back to his tummy and then just stay there (and vice versa). But that all changed this past weekend. He has now figured out how to roll from one spot to another and does not want to stay still. Diaper changes have officially become fun!

Tonight I was in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner and looked up to find Dane exploring the entertainment center. He had started off in the middle of the living room floor. He was so proud of himself!

"Hmmm...how do I get this thing open?"

Kenna saw me taking pictures of Dane and said that she needed to take a picture too. This is how she wanted to take it...right next to her "brudder."

One of my favs...She decided he needed a little help because he would not look at the camera when she did. I'm sure this is the first of many times to come where he does not do exactly everything she wants! :)

Mercy's Birthday

2010-10-22T14:30:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was Mercy's 16th birthday...can you believe it! We all met up for dinner at a restaurant in Allen and had a great time sitting out on the patio. Daniel came with us (his first outing that does not involve a dr appt of physical therapy since his surgery 3 weeks ago) and had fun showing Kenna and Mercy how to wear two party hats. Kenna also had fun blowing the little horn.

Since there were balloons floating about, Kenna decided to pretend like she was blowing up the balloon.

Part of the party crew....what fun! The weather was perfect!

Mercy loved her Thomas the Train chocolate cake....and Solomon really got into wearing more than one hat.

JD and Kenna really liked being able to run around and not sit at the table the entire time we were there. I think they really wanted to escape though.

It was a great party! Happy Birthday Mercy!

And the Winner Is.....

2010-10-14T05:44:00.000-05:00

Several weeks ago, I posted as a facebook status that Dane and I were officially in a war over whether or not he would suck his thumb. I was really, really pushing the paci (a much easier habit to break when the time comes) and was SURE that I would come out of this victorious. Take a look at the pictures from this week and tell me who you think the winner really is....

I don't think it is me!

Daniel's surgery

2010-10-12T05:47:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, almost 2 weeks ago, Daniel had some pretty major surgery done to his knee. He had a procedure done that is called autologous chondrocyte implantation or ACI. In a nutshell, they take a cartilage sample from his knee (they did that in March when they scoped his knee), grow the cells in the lab, and then go back in and insert them. They also lifted his knee cap to give him some more room so hopefully everything will quit rubbing together. If you want a more detailed description, along with some cool pictures, here is a link that does a great job describing ACI.

Because of the extent of the surgery, we spent three nights in the hospital. Kenna and Dane went to spend some quality time with Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Mercy (Thanks guys!) so I could stay in the hospital with Daniel. The pain meds that they were giving him were making him very hot. We had the thermostat set down as low as it could possibly go and I was sitting around wearing a sweatshirt, socks, and covered up with 3 blankets and he was STILL hot. So the nurses went to find a fan and this is what they found....

...it loudly got the job done! :)

After three days we got to come home and Daniel was very glad to be able to sleep in own bed. He has to wear a lovely brace and be completely non-weight-bearing for 6 weeks.

For the first week, his foot was HUGE! They had wrapped is leg so his knee wouldn't swell and mess up the incision so all of the extra fluid went down into his foot. Once they took the original bandage off of his knee, his foot and leg got MUCH better!

His has to use the CPM for 8 hours a day every day. He has done this before but I am sure it is still pretty boring!

We got him all set up with snacks, books, TV, computer, etc.

After Kenna came home from the Boyd's, she went to spend the week with my parents in Muleshoe so Daniel could have a little time before he had a two year old wanting to kiss his "owie". Hopefully they will post some pictures of their adventures soon! Thanks everyone for all of your help during this !

Meeting Cousin Keaton

2010-10-10T11:32:00.000-05:00

My cousin, Leslye, had a precious baby boy on Monday. She lives about 2 hours from here , and since Kenna was in Muleshoe with my parents, we all took this as a great opportunity to go meet baby Keaton and exchange my daughter!

Once we got there, Gran had to get in some Dane loving. He was supporting his Texas Rangers. He looks so cute and round! :) Mr. Keaton Reese

It doesn't take long to forget how little they are when they are born....and he was NOT a little baby (9lbs 6oz)!

Gran had gone shopping at the Dollar Store and Kenna and Abbye had a blast with the finery that she acquired on her shopping spree!

We tried to take a picture of all of the kids together....this is definitely going to be a process to ever get a good picture with a bunch of little ones! I love how Dane is just looking at Keaton...what is that?

Here is our attempt at a picture of the boys. Dane was too busy watching the Rangers on TV so he didn't want to look at the camera and Anson was looking at his Mommy....oh well.

An attempt at a photo of Gran and her great-grandkids. Kenna was not interested in smiling and it appears that Anson was trying to escape the grasp of his big sister, Abbye. Fun times.

This morning, Kenna was very glad to be home and helped Mommy make some Birthday Waffles for Daddy (just a day late). She had had to be all accessorized to stir.

Fun day!

Keaton is absolutely adorable and I am so glad to have all of my family home under the same roof!

Go Rangers!!

2010-10-06T21:21:00.001-05:00

This weekend, we got to celebrate my grandmother, Mama's, 80th birthday. Almost all of my extended family on my Dad's side made the trek to DFW so we could all go to a Ranger's game together on Saturday night. We had so much fun and even got to hear her name announced on the radio broadcast and go across the jumbotron!!!!

Dane just got so caught up in the excitement that he couldn't stand it and had to take a nap to refresh himself. :) I did get him a Ranger's shirt once we went and did a little shopping but I never put it on him. (Bad Mom). He is going to wear it tomorrow though to support the team!Kenna loved sitting between Mama and Papa. She was telling them all about it! We got her a shirt too....

Kenna and Abbye had a blast! Kenna was very excited about her new Ranger's t-shirt and decided that she needed a hat to match. It is precious! It has a little Minnie Mouse on the front next to the T. She was a little upset that she had to take it off when we got home. We had to promise her that she could wear it later.
Kenna loved joining in all of the chants with the crowd. As soon as we walked in the door, she walked up to Daniel to tell him that she yelled Go Rangers. She also like yelling for Josh Hamilton. :)

Once Dane woke up he spent some time just chilling with all of the family. He loved relaxing in Papa's lap. You wouldn't guess Mama had hit the big 8-0 would you?

We did take a group shot but not with my camera. Hopefully someone who has a picture of the entire group will send me a copy....such a fun time! Daniel had to miss out on everything because he had just gotten home from the hospital that day and was hanging out with his brothers while keeping his leg propped up on the couch...more on that later! Thanks to the boys for keeping him company while the rest of us went out to play.

GO RANGERS!!

My two (or three) cuties

2010-09-28T06:28:00.003-05:00

My dad has started e-mailing me telling me that I needed to update my blog so I decided to take two pictures last night just for him! Love ya Dad!!!! :)

Kenna was enjoying her 'dinner of champions' last night. I had not decided what we were going to have for dinner yet but Miss K was starving and kept telling me that she needed to "eat sumpin." Answer: PB&J and a juice box...one of her favorites! She was showing me her hands and how she had jelly on them. And this is why I hadn't fixed dinner yet. Who would want to disturb these two? Dane had actually been taking a little cat nap as well and just happened to open his eyes before I took the picture. Dane laid there cuddling with his Daddy for another 5-10 min before he even moved.

Personally, I think I have some pretty cute kids!