We are so thankful to have good friends here in Ohio! Even Jaxson has made some good friends, his best buddy being Ethan. Luckily we get to see him a lot! Lately we've been going on some great (well that depends on the day) runs with Ethan. It's quite the production with two running mommies pushing two double stollers filled with four crazy kids and usually at least one dog, but we LOVE it!
The kids are troopers and after we're done we always stop at this bridge to let them out so they can play. They love 'their' bridge and are always excited to throw grass, weeds, rocks and whatever else they can find into the water.
Then they get to 'run' the rest of the way back to the cars. It's so fun to watch them run together. This picture is a little unusual though, because Jax is in front.
Most of the time it's a lot like this; Ethan actually running while Jax takes his sweet time. He runs for a few seconds and then gets distracted by a bug, leaf or stick.
Even though it's maybe a little girly I had to include this picture. I love it! It looks like Ethan is really sad about something and that Jaxson is there to comfort him.
And in this one it looks like they are having some deep serious discussion, but knowing these two it's probably about Toy Story.
We love these sweet boys! (Look at what's in Jaxson's hand. Do you think he likes Toy Story?)
Lately, for various reasons, I've been feeling a little down and overwhelmed. My poor husband is usually the one who suffers when this happens. Sorry Keith! So, tonight after another long day with crazy kids and no help and not feeling like I've accomplished ANYTHING, I decided I needed a pick me up. I will admit the first thing I thought of was ice cream. But while eating my sugar free popiscle, because that's all we have, I thought of this little video my friend showed me a while ago. I remembered it made me laugh. So, after some digging and finding some other weird videos on You Tube I found it. It did the trick and made me laugh so I watched it again and then again.
And after watching it for the third time I felt much better not just because it made me smile, or because this girl is so stinkin' cute, it also inspired me. This is how I need to start waking up, ready to take on the day. And if needed, I will also be giving myself a little pep talk (maybe not quite like this) about how great my life is, how many blessings I have, and that really I can do everything good!
This beautiful video has also brought me some much needed inspiration lately. I saw it a while ago and wrote down how to view it on a sticky note with the words "Watch this on the hard days" scribbled next to it. It seems like I've been watching it a lot lately so I might as well make it easier to get to. It helps me remember how much I do love my two crazy kiddos and how much they are loved by their Heavenly Father. It humbles me and helps me want to do better when I think of them really being His.
Well, now that I've been inspired for the night (and the kids are finally in bed) it's time to get something done!
We have a HUGE Curious George fan at our house! And since the Curious George traveling exhibit is visiting the Pittsburgh Children's Museum we just had to go. Keith and I were excited to see Jax react to this because we knew he'd be so excited.
They had a meet and greet with George.
Jaxson wasn't so sure of him at first. I don't think he was expecting him to be so big. So he needed a little encouragement from Dad to go stand by him. (and of course I couldn't get him to look at the camera!)
He did like the little statue of George in the exhibit and was more than willing to give him hugs.
And talk and sit with him.
He also really enjoyed the activities. At first he was so excited he just ran around to all the different set ups and pointed out characters and other things he knew from the show. Once he calmed down to stay still for more than .5 seconds we got him to actually do some of the activities. Like putt putt George style,
work at the construction zone,
and try to give George some bananas at the sorting fruit stand. He LOVED the whole thing!
We also enjoyed a few other areas at the museum. The Art Gallery was a huge hit for this boy.
This is the ceiling in the art area and I thought it was pretty neat.
Jax also loved the waterplay floor. He played with boats and whales in the pools;
helped daddy with his fountain,
and enjoyed getting soaked! He was one happy camper!
After lunch we went to an Aviary. My camera battery died there but we had a great time at the shows, and seeing all the birds. Jaxson got to feed a few of the birds which was exciting for him and to also get up close to some penguins which he now tells us is his favorite animal.
I can't believe it's already here. My newborn baby is already half of year old! I know I say this every month but IT'S GOING TOO FAST! Kennadie is doing great and we just love her to pieces! She now weighs 15.6 lbs and is 24 inches long. She's still in about the 50th percentile for everything. I'm actually surprised she doesn't weigh more because this girl loves to eat! She also loves grabbing at everything, rolling all over and finding yummy things to put in her mouth, being tickled, taking baths and still adores Jax. He just walks into the room and she lights up! And she's also turned into quite the daddy's girl. She still sleeps great at night for the most part but is being a stinker about naps. This is partly my fault because I drag her around all the time and I'm working more.
The bib says it all! (Feed me and nobody gets hurt.) When she's hungry this girl can be a bear. I think she gets that from Keith.
She loves her toes and I love her little chubbs.
Not only does she love to eat but she also loves to make a mess. I can't keep her hands out of her mouth and she has to be holding a spoon as well.
This girl amazes us everyday! We love having her in our family!
Last night after dinner Jax was trying to get his bib off and in doing so he got it turned around. He looked down and realized the long part was on his back, like a cape. All of a sudden instead of being frustrated he was happy. Then he jumped up and shouted "I a superhero Jaxson!" Then he put his arm up and said "To the rescue!" He caught me completly off guard and I just died laughing. Thankfully he posed for me again so I could get a quick picture.
Ever since then, we've had superhero Jaxson flying around the house, or in this picture he's hiding in his superhero cave.
Then today after his nap he realized he had on red underwear so he wanted his red bib. All of sudden he's into fashion I guess. Next, he decided he wanted Paisley to be a superhero too. At first she wasn't too excited about this and was a little embrassed about getting her picture taken.
But because she's a good sport she showed off her superhero skills too. She too is off to the rescue.
Introducing Superhero Jaxson and his amazing sidekick Superdog Paisley. He informed us she has a super bark, which he got off the movie Bolt. I think we'll keep this kid around just for the entertainment he provides!
Two days after boards we were still in celebration mode. We decided, at little spur of the moment, to go bowling after dinner. We've been wanting to take Jax bowling for a while now because he's really into it and we bowl in our basement often, but we just hadn't found the time. He was so excited when we told him what we were doing and told us "I a bowling kid!"
We tried to help him but he didn't want our help. He knew what to do because he'd seen Curious George bowl. He was a little upset that he couldn't bowl a gutter ball like George because we had the bumpers up.
This did get a little scary at times.
But for the most part he did great and loved it. When it was time to go he said thank you to everyone and everything including the balls.
This is his forced smile. Nice Jax.
Afterwards we decided we had to have some more ice cream and since we had a coupon we hit up Cold Stone for some of the best ice cream in the world!
The day after the test we decided to also do something fun as a family. We headed out to Headlands Beach which is about a 1/2 hr away from our house. This was the beach on a non holiday Thursday afternoon. We thought it was pretty crowded and decided to never go on a weekend. In the far background you can see the lighthouse.
Still, we had a great time. Right now, Jax is into this belly bumping thing whenever he sees anyone without their shirt on. Seriously, where does he come from?
A little boy who loves dirt, rocks, water and being loud and active was in heaven! He could have stayed there all day.
This little girl also couldn't get enough of it and espeically loved being in the water.
It was a great little day adventure for us. It made me super excited to take my kids to Bear Lake in a few weeks but also sad because Keith won't be with us.
Today Keith took his first set of boards. It has been a stressful couple of months filled with tons and tons of study which means very little family time. After he finished the test we decided it was time to celebrate! Because Jax is in love with Toy Story we really wanted to take him to the new movie that recently came out and thanks to Kelloggs cereal brand we were able to get free tickets. It was Jaxson's first real time going to the movie theater and he LOVED it.
Again, despite the look on his face this kid was in heaven the whole show. Except when Woody gets hurt, Jax started to cry. He was very into the movie the whole time, it was so fun to watch. The movie was in 3D, in case you're wondering about the glasses.
Afterwards we went out for ice cream. Jax was insistant on orange ice cream and ate every bite.
Kennadie also insisted on a taste and stole a bite from Daddy.
If was so nice to have some family time. We've missed Keith tons lately but are thankful for his hard work and dedication. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support, we'll find out if he passed in about a month.
We had a fun 4th of July holiday this year! A few days before the 4th we went over to our friends house for a BBQ and to watch their town's firework show. We had a blast enjoying good food, good company, karaoke, and great firework show! Our two cute kids in their holiday shirts.
Jaxson got his first experience with sparklers!
Kenna had been asleep until all the kids started doing sparklers then she woke up and watched the excitement in awe.
Jax loved the sparklers until he got burned. Then he wanted nothing to do with them. This is ok with me, that kid could use a little more respect for things that are dangerous.
The firework show was awesome with pretty much two amazing finales.
Despite the look on Jaxson's face both of the kids loved the show. The blanket is just because he got cold.
We stayed after the firework show to do a little karaoke. Our friends have an awesome setup for karaoke with a stage, disco ball, lights, multiple microphones and more. It was really fun and it didn't take long for both kids to crash even though it was loud. Happy 4th of July everyone!!!
Lately we've been going on some great (well that depends on the day) runs with Ethan. It's quite the production with two running mommies pushing two double stollers filled with four crazy kids and usually at least one dog, but we LOVE it!
The kids are troopers and after we're done we always stop at this bridge to let them out so they can play. They love 'their' bridge and are always excited to throw grass, weeds, rocks and whatever else they can find into the water.
Then they get to 'run' the rest of the way back to the cars. It's so fun to watch them run together. This picture is a little unusual though, because Jax is in front.
Most of the time it's a lot like this; Ethan actually running while Jax takes his sweet time. He runs for a few seconds and then gets distracted by a bug, leaf or stick.
Even though it's maybe a little girly I had to include this picture. I love it! It looks like Ethan is really sad about something and that Jaxson is there to comfort him.
And in this one it looks like they are having some deep serious discussion, but knowing these two it's probably about Toy Story.
We love these sweet boys! (Look at what's in Jaxson's hand. Do you think he likes Toy Story?)
