KK's 1st Soccer Season

After many many many months of KK asking when she will be big enough to play soccer, the time came and we signed her up as fast as we could. Having never really played with her (she has just watched the kids playing on the soccer fields by our house), we weren't sure what to expect, but all we wanted was for her to have a fun time. We signed up with our friend McKenzie and got Coach Carl as our coach. Our first practice was entertaining to say the least. KK was more concerned about shin guards and her pretty new shoes, but the dad's got the team going and we kicked the ball around. We left practice thinking that we covered all the bases... we probably should have explained the game a little more to KK.

Our first game was two days after our first practice. We got our jerseys as we walked to the field - neon green and yellow. The kids look cute in them, but man are they bright. Our team decided mid-game that we were THE GREEN MACHINES! Very cute name.. apparently The Buzz Lightyears were taken by the other team we were playing ha-ha! KK was called onto the field first - and she did great. She was told to stand on the circle and she did... even as the ball flew by. After three years of telling her to take turns, be sweet and not to push, Mommy and Daddy were cheering for her and telling her to forget all that and just get that ball. It was very funny. But our sweet KK, she didn't get scared or cry... she just ran around with her teammates, watching the ball but always making sure to avoid the crowd of kids surrounding the ball. And the best part, she had a blast!

Here is a picture of her at the first game, as the ball flew past, KK turned and saw me about to snap a picture and she of course stopped chasing the silly ball and stiked a pose! Classic KK - how silly you are, we love you!

Here is KK and some of her fellow Green Machines having a quick pow-wow with Coach Carl before kickoff.. so cute and so big in her jersey. While KK isn't a fan of the pushing and crowds around the ball, she is an amazing runner and will jog back and forth with the team. Sometimes we see a bird fly by, or notice a pretty flower, but we always come back to the game. Coach loves that KK will join the team on the field anytime and just jump right in the game, she is a strong teammate that way.

Her sweet friend Kenzie is below too - what a little powerhouse she is. She might run onto the field bawling her eyes out, but she will push her way to the ball and has no fear. Her and KK approach the game very different, but they have fun together!

My favorite moment might have been her second or third game, the ball and crowd of kids came near her and KK saw the ball right there. Instead of diving in, in her self-preservation way she put her arms up around her and cringed away from the crowd, while sticking her little toe as far as she could to attempt to hit the ball. It was so precious watching her trying to kick the ball while making sure no one got too close. So sweet!

Here is her game from this past weekend -- notice shes getting in there and getting that ball. In just four games, KK has learned so much. She is getting over her fear of getting hit and really enjoys when she kicks the ball. We are just happy she is enjoying the game! Spring soccer is definately in our future. We have such a wonderful team and great parents who just want the kids to learn and have a good time.

And of course, the Green Machine's unofficial player: AJ! He joins every huddle during practice and he truely believes he is on the team. You will catch him running out on the field during a game (and then see Daddy or Mommy frantically trying to catch him and pull him back to the sidelines). He is a great little brother, always cheering for Kaitlyn from his little purple chair. He practices his moves with Daddy on the sidelines, ready to be 3 so he can go out and play too. Don't worry little man, your day is coming!

OKC Vacation

(Picture of our last moments of our trip but it is so stinkin' cute I had to put it before my post ~ what beautiful little babies I have)!

With one of my friends from high school getting married, we decided to take the kids on our first little family vacation. While we have been to parent's houses, we haven't stayed in a hotel with both kids before, so we were very excited. After KK's soccer game (more on that later for sure), we packed the car up and hit the open road. AJ was napping before we were a mile away from home, a chicken nugget that was nibbled on was still in his little hand. It was a smooth and fast ride, before we knew it we were in downtown OK City checking out bricktown and pulling up to our hotel.

Our very tall and fancy hotel! KK was as excited as I was, we checked in and headed up the elevators up up up 11 stories to our hotel room. The kids ran into the room and headed to check out the view. AJ was pumped, he saw a train and immediately yelled "choo choo" and waved to it. After checking out every inch of the room and exploring all that we could find, we put on our swimsuits and hit the pool. It was quite chilly, so we jumped into the hot tub to warm up every now and then.

That evening, we were guests at a beautiful wedding - the bride and groom said their written vows at the water gardens at sunset. It was a little chilly, but we bundled up and had so much fun. I got to see some friends that I haven't seen in years - it was fun getting to catch up and see them, though it was too short, I wish we could have spent more time together. KK had fun, she was a mess dancing around where ever she roamed, eating salami slices and drinking punch. AJ was all about the cake. He had chocolate cake all over his face, along with a big smile. It always amazes me, but it shouldn't, the kids were great the whole evening. It was super late when we headed home, but no tears or fusses happened all night. KK's favorite part was giving the bride a big hug before we left - she loved meeting the bride :-) And what a beautiful bride you were Angi - congrats to you and Daniel!

The next morning we woke up early (thanks AJ) and had a quick breakfast in bed before heading to the hot tub for a swim. Then it was a nap for AJ while we packed and checked out of our hotel room. KK was very sad, she had big tears in her eyes as she begged to stay another day and night. She kept saying "I love Oklahoma City, I want to stay in this hotel longer"... poor thing. As we promised another family vacation soon, she immediately asked when and if we could stay for two days instead of one. I think our little one has the travel bug.

We ended our visit with a trip to bricktown. We walked along the canal and chased the ducks - well AJ chased them. We had to hold him back so he didn't fall into the water. It was wonderful outside - sunny and a little chilly. We walked around and then had lunch together. After one final walk to the ducks, we got into our car and headed home.

We all had fun and can't wait to have another family vacation together soon! Thank you Angi for letting us share in your very special day!

Summer Wrap-Up

It is officially almost fall (if you ignore the 96 degree weather that is) and so I wanted to show some pictures from the summer that we didn't share earlier. I would love to show more, but limited space and its almost my bedtime...

In July I had my birthday celebration. My niece, sister and parents were able to come into town and celebrate with us. It was fun, especially trying to get the kids to let us take a few pictures to remember the occaisian. It was everything I could ask for to celebrate my big milestone - cake, presents and fun. Here are a few pictures of the evening:

At the begining of August, Aunt Liz came to visit us by herself. We always have fun hanging together at the pool and doing all kinds of fun things together. Here are a few shots of us at the pool.

At the end of August, we had our Annual Shaving Cream Social -- where basically the kids come in swimsuits and cover themselves in shaving cream and run around like crazy. It is done right before school starts, a fun way to end the summer together with our friends. This was the first year that KK and AJ were really big enough to join in, usually they watched safety from the sidelines. KK was all over it - she was all smiles and just wanted to be covered from head to toe. AJ on the other hand was not as excited. It was his bed time though... at first he was a little intrigued by it all, but after an accidental tasting, he was done and didn't want one little bit to touch him. He was very content to sit back and watch the crazy.

Here are some highlights - as well as a group shot with all our friends. We are very blessed to live here and have these friends/neighbors in our lives!

Poor Alex - as you can see, the night ended in a few tears, but don't worry. They were wiped away and he was all smiles as he was tucked into bed.

Labor Day weekend was our final time at the pool. For our little swim-babies, this was rough. We ended our summer in style, by going with Gracie in the morning and then that evening having a pizza party by the pool and swimming until we could see a few stars. We made sure to swim in all five pools and do the water slide several times.

After we were content that we had done everything at least once, we packed up our things and headed home. With one last look at the pool and a big wave goodbye, we ended our fun summer together as a family. I can't put into words how blessed I feel to be able to have a summer like this with my husband and kiddos, just filled with adventures, friends, family and lots of fun. I hope I captured some of that here on our blog to share and remember.

Now its time to break out our TCU gear and get ready for fall and FOOTBALL games! Let the fun times continue.... the road goes on forever and the party never ends!

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: