KK's First Day of Preschool

With the end of summer came KK's first day of preschool... well first day in the sense of a new year. She is so big, she is now in the "big 3's" class!

We went to "Meet the Teacher" and KK will have two very sweet teachers who are promising to teach her all sorts of things: her letters, the sounds they make, how to write letters and numbers... And by the end of the year she will even be putting words together and sounding them out. That is right, she will be reading small words at the age of 4. Whoa!

KK was excited to hear all this, and she was just as excited to go to school and do some real learning (as opposed to the fake learning she was doing there all summer I suppose haha). Here are a few pictures of her ready for her first day. Note AJ had to jump in a shot too, he thought he was getting to go too. Not yet buddy, give Mommy another year before you get big on me. Sniff sniff!

Goodbye to our JuJu

We are super sad to announce that our JuJu is moving home. After having her with us for two awesome and fun years, she is transitioning to a new phase in her life and sadly it is far away from us. KK and I are beyond sad: we loved our afternoons with JuJu where we would dance, color, listen to fun music and just play the day away. It is so very rare for a little girl and boy to have an aunt that can just devote so much attention and patience and pure love on them. She always had time for them and rarely told them no when they asked her to play or color... It was such a gift to have that for KK and AJ!


There aren't words to describe how changed our lives became when she moved into town two years ago, nor can I really express the hole we will have when she leaves. All I can say is, JuJu we love you so much! From playing with KK and AJ, to helping our Daddy out with his BBQ, to supporting my kitchen efforts and watching "Psych" and "Say Yes to the Dress" - each of us have some wonderful memories together.




While we will still be in touch and see each other, we know it will be different. Our lives were very blessed by having our Aunt JuJu with us here ~ we thank God for our time together, and we will be praying very diligently for her return someday (soon).











Goodbye JuJu - we will pray for you to find unlimited happiness and peace as you move home! Thank you for being the kind, loving, patient and amazing person that you are - we love you so much!

Grandma's Birthday

While we did have to say goodbye to our Ju-Ju (sniff sniff), our silver lining was that we got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa.

A cool front followed our grandparents from Kansas, so we were loving the relatively cool weather and tried to take full advantage as we knew summer wasn't quite done with us yet. One night together we went to the park to swing and play. Then we were off to feed the ducks (aka the turtles and a few fish) and walk around the lake (aka pond).

It just so happened that Grandma's birthday was the next day, so we surprised her with a yummy homemade cherry pie and some vanilla ice cream.

The next morning we had a big breakfast and headed to the pool so Grandma could see KK and AJ's moves before the pool closed for the summer. We had fun - next time they need to bring their suits and join in the fun.

We can't wait to see them again, hopefully this fall to watch a TCU game and watch KK as she is starting her 1st year of soccer soon...

AJ Baby Talk

AJ is 17 months old... he is getting so big and it is getting hard to write it all down. While his first word was Dada, Mama was soon after that. Then he was saying "Dis" and "Dat" to point out all the things he wanted and demanded that he have. "Baba" covered his bottle and his boppy. Soon he was saying "Sissa" for KK. Just the other day he did say "Kai-lyn" for the first time ever. We were shopping and KK ran too far ahead, so when I yelled her name all of a sudden AJ decided he too should yell at sissy "Kai-lyn". We all started clapping and AJ was quite happy to find himself the center of such attention - so much so that he lifted his hands up in the air and yelled "sooo biggg". The little toot knows how to work us though, he will only say her name after much begging, or when she is in trouble and I am yelling her name in a certain tone that means trouble.

He is also saying "Peease" for please and "Danku" for Thank you. He is a toot, he knows just when to say those two magic words to get himself out of hot water. AJ is still throwing his little tantrums. If he gets in trouble, he will immediately sit down, pull out that bottom lip, cry a few tears out of his baby blues and then squeal and cry on the top of his lungs as he has been wronged and you better fix it. While Daddy loves that AJ has a pitchers arm and can throw anything he finds across the room, it is now very dangerous to lay down in our living room in the mornings. One never knows when the fierce AJ will decide that while you are maybe resting your eyes during Dora, you need a wooden block tossed at your head. Of course, the minute he lets loose and you yell "N0", the tantrum begins.

AJ doesn't need something in his hand to use his "pitching arm". If Sissy is bossing or not giving him a toy he wants, or if Mommy is telling him no while holding him, or if Daddy puts him down before he was ready... all of a sudden the arm goes up and bam, he has hit you. The little bottom lip comes out again and he looks as though you are the one who hit him, when in fact you are the victim. The boy has heard the phrase "No hitting" so many times that the last time I said it to KK while holding him, AJ hit me in response. I wasn't even talking to him. Little toot. It looks like time out is about to start for him... how will we ever keep his little bottom on a chair? More on that later...

Lately AJ has been into books. If you ask out loud "AJ want to get a book to read" he will go running for the books and grab one before running on to the rocking chair. Of course, we never get to finish a book. AJ is determined to be the one to turn the pages and hold the book halfway through. I am glad he loves to read, its a passion I hope to pass on to him and KK.

AJ is a mover and a shaker. When Backyardigans comes on, he will smile and dance in little circles by the TV. He can now also climb on every bed in the house, and while it terrifies me to think of him falling off and breaking something, he finds it funny to sneak away to climb on one so he can surprise me when I come looking for him. At least for the moment, his crib is safe and he hasn't figured out how to climb out. Speaking of hiding, AJ loves hide and seek. He will play it, even if you aren't playing it with him. The other day, KK was playing with him and he took off to sit under his highchair and covered his eyes as if to say "can't see me cause I can't see you". KK and I were laughing for awhile over that. AJ has also learned that door knobs are things you need to get into rooms that you aren't supposed to be in. He can now open them... he will be the reason I go gray someday. But its been fun so far!

We are working now on our colors. Green is "gree" and blue is "buuu". Its funny, I need to get some video of the boy. Belly buttons are also funny things these days - they all must go beep beep when he pokes them, and AJ is not above lifting your shirt in public to find your bellybutton if he so desires to hear a "beep beep".

As for this picture - having a big sister means that AJ is surrounded by princess things all day long. He embraces it, as you can see, and we had to take this picture as he was the one who grabbed the dress and held it up to be put on... and he was the one who danced in a circle when we said he looked pretty... don't worry. He and daddy pulled out some balls and played hoops after this :-)

There is never a dull moment with him, but he is still my snuggle bug and loves a good hug and kiss (usually when he is sleepy). He definately brings us all laughter and smiles - I love you my sweet baby boy! (or as KK calls him "my little bubby)...

Kaitlyn Swims 1st Time

The past two weeks KK took a swim class at our pool each night. Last spring she refused to take classes without me or her dad in the pool with her. We thought, what if we try it now after swimming at this pool all summer. It worked - she loved it! She was the lifeguards favorite student - out of a class of five kids ages 3-5, she was almost the youngest (and the most fearless). She was also the only one who could swim a few feet on her own at the end of the session. We found out after our two weeks ended from another teacher how the whole time our teacher Mr. Chris was bragging about how you could ask Kaitlyn to try a dive or a move on her own and she would just go for it and try her hardest. My heart swells with pride and love!

And after two weeks of hard work (hard in waiting her turn to go), she did it! Kaitlyn can swim several feet all by herself. See our video of our last day of class.



So, today we started Aquakids swim class, as KK said she didn't want to stop swimming just yet. We signed up for the 3-1 class, as we thought yes she can swim a few feet, but really needs to keep working on the basics. After two minutes, the teacher looked at me and said "this girl can swim, she needs to be in the 3-2 class and maybe even the 3-3 class later on"... Wow!

I know I am biased, but I think she has a gift and a great love of the water. Her brother is right there with her. AJ starts Waterbabies 2 in October (yup, he is swimming so well and has no fear of going under or jumping into the water that he skipped Waterbabies 1). Looks like this runs in the family!

Children's Museum Visit

It has been a H-O-T-T summer! To keep cool, we took KK to see Toy Story 3 at the IMAX theater one afternoon. It was so much fun. We decided to join the museum so we could get the discounts and have a cool place to go with the kids until it gets cooler. Our first visit in a while was just last Saturday. AJ had a blast in the grocery shopping area of the Children's museum.

He was pushing that little cart around as fast as he could, he had so much fun. He would have stayed there forever if we would have let him. KK was there with him, letting him push but making sure that only the appropriate items were purchased (pretend purchasing of course).

We also built some beautiful towers and castles together and went and saw a show on the Texas night sky. AJ loved watching the red laser pointer the lady used to show us the stars, otherwise he was unimpressed.

KK's favorite room was the "Creativity" room. She was in awe of the art desks filled with crayons, markers, and especially glue sticks and scissors. She just sat down and started creating picture after picture. Lately she has sat at home for hours just coloring - she loves it, especially if you join her and color along beside her.

We discovered the "light" room and learned about shadows and light. KK of course went straight to the table where you color with a glow stick. AJ true to form found the glow in the dark blocks and proceeded to make a tower to knock down. All around fun!

It was hard to leave - but after an afternoon of playing and learning, it was time to head home. I am sure we will return soon :-)

Swim Videos: KK and AJ in action

More proof that we tell no lies - here are the kiddos showing their stuff! I love having video of them, something to look back on in wonder some day seeing them so small. I am no editor, so I am sorry they are seperate videos and nothing fancy going on. Just my babies, getting big on me.



KK & the Waterfall:

KK's Belly Flop (was supposed to be a dive - she was so disappointed):

AJ Dives In: