The Kimery's

October and November

2012-01-28T15:21:00.006-05:00

It seems the beginning of all my posts start the EXACT same way!!! I am behind.....I am behind....I AM BEHIND!!!! I think I've given up on ever being caught up again. We just stay entirely too busy for that!

October was an especially busy month. Todd took a new job with a consulting firm, KEMA, doing energy audits throughout Arkansas and Texas. His region is quite large, so he does his fair share of traveling. Fortunately, the boys are still young enough to NOT be in school, so we are very blessed to be able to travel with him! Blaine and Bryce both love to go, go, go, and Blaine especially enjoys staying in Hotels.

Todd's first trip was to Ohio, which is where his boss is located. I still had some accumulated airline miles from when we were flying back and forth between Arkansas and Florida, so Mommy and Daddy got to take a week long trip WITHOUT kiddos....Thanks to Nana and Grammy. The boys also got to experience daycare or school as Blaine calls it for the first time. Blaine loved it, and Bryce was OK with it by the last of three days! He has always been a bit on the clingy side, so it was no surprise that he had a hard time at first. Todd and I had a very nice, quiet week and some amazing food.

Of course October wouldn't be complete without some Halloween pics............We had a Fierce Spiderman and an Itsy Bitsy Spider.In November, we set out on our first work-related trip as a family.......in Todd's 'new to us' car, which is a little (or perhaps a LOT) smaller than my gigantic Yukon XL! We were supposed to be gone for a week, but that quickly turned into two weeks. So, you can imagine that with two little boys we were glad to find laundry facilities onsite at a couple of our hotels!! We were back and forth between Houston and Austin. The boys and I had a GREAT time shopping, swimming, and playing at a really cool park (with a train), thanks to Aunt Cindy's recommendation! They also built their first animals at Build-A-Bear, which was a huge success. They are both still wagging those little animals around EVERYWHERE we go! Somewhere I have pics of this trip, but I can't seem to locate them right now. Maybe I'll find them soon......

When we FINALLY made it back home, the boys had their annual photo shoot. I am happy to report that this year was MUCH, MUCH better than last. Blaine and Bryce were extremely cooperative, and we have the pics to prove it.............

July/August/September

2011-10-03T11:52:00.007-04:00

Well, I guess it's no surprise that I am behind AGAIN!! I tend to stay that way lately. July and August were VERY hot months here in Arkansas. We spent lots of time playing in the water because that was the only tolerable way to be outside. Somewhere I have pictures of the kids playing in the kiddie pools and on the slip and slide, but since I'm not sure where they are, you'll just have to use your imagination!! Bryce also got his first haircut this summer, but we left the curls in the back! I'm just not ready to part with those yet! I do have a couple of pics of that for your viewing pleasure....

September brought some much cooler weather, for which we were very grateful!!! It also brought the beginning of football season and homecoming. Our sweet friend Dylan was one of the little attendants, so I was asked to go and take lots of pictures!!! It was fun for everyone except Bryce; He was a little on the cranky side ALL day!! Blaine loved seeing everyone all dressed up, taking pictures, and especially the parade!

Speaking of the parade, September also brought the fair! Blaine and Bryce (and Todd)both LOVE animals, so we always enjoy going through all the show barns at the fair. We took the kids to Pike County fair, and we even managed to make it to the parade!! Our good friends, the Pettigrews, had a float in the parade, so we got to ride with them. Blaine loved it! The following weekend, we joined our cousins Kayla, Mark, and Rylan for a trip to the Four States fair and rodeo. It was the boys first trip to a rodeo, and they really seemed to enjoy it. Blaine and Rylan rode lots of rides, and everyone was exhausted by the time we were done.

WOW! I don't guess I realized how busy September was until I wrote it all down! I'll leave you all with a few picture of the kids from homecoming.......

May/June

2011-06-20T12:37:00.005-04:00

I think this post will actually get me caught up. May was a busy month. We made our first cakes for someone other than family. Some of the ladies from church asked us to make the cakes for a wedding shower. We were very please with how they turned out. Here are a couple of pictures......

May was also the month of Matt's high school graduation. He's not a little boy anymore! He's officially all grown up! He plans to attend Southern Arkansas University in the fall and play football there. We are all very proud of him! Here are a few pictures from graduation.

This is the AWESOME graduation cake we made for Matt!! We thought the picture transfer turned out really well!

June has been a little less busy than May, so far anyway! We took the boys on their first camping trip, and I'm sad to say that I didn't take one single picture! We did have a really good time though!

We have also been swimming at Mrs. Genyne's.......Blaine has really become comfortable in the water this summer! He had a blast jumping off the diving board!Bryce had a lot of fun in the pool too, but he won't be still long enough for me to get a picture!!!

Lads to Leaders and Great Wolf Lodge

2011-06-17T15:31:00.006-04:00

Every year our Church attends a youth conference called 'Lads to Leaders and Leaderettes'. Although our boys are not old enough to actually participate in the events, we were asked to go this year because there was an extra room. Todd and I were both very excited to go because we had both been wanting to know more about what goes on at the conference. We stayed at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine and had a fabulous weekend. Blaine even got to 'lead' a song (after the real competition was over), and they let him have a medal! He had a great time playing with the big boys and swimming in the pool!

Here he is with his medal!

Here he has on his monkey back pack. He would put it on himself and ask us to take him for a walk! It was too funny!

After the conference was over, we decided to stay an extra night in Grapevine. We had been wanting to check out the Great Wold Lodge. Since we were there, it was right across the street from our hotel, and they offered us an awesome veteran's discount, we couldn't resist. I can not say enough good things about this place! The kids had a blast, and so did we!! It is such a perfect place for families with kids of all ages. Blaine really came out of his 'water' shell in the 24 hours we were here. He went from not getting off the step or out of the shallow area or even wanting to go down the little slides, to jumping in the water unassisted, going under on his own, and wanting to go on the BIG slides instead of the little slides! Bryce also had a good time playing in the kiddie area. He really liked being able to climb on and off the canoe, and he would willingly go under water to 'swim' (be pushed) back and forth between Todd and I. Here are a few pictures of the boys playing in the water!

The canoe A little slide Coming off a big slide! I had to drag him on this the first time, and by the time we left, I had to drag him off of it!

Little Rock Zoo 2011

2011-06-17T15:03:00.007-04:00

Todd had a few doctor appointments in Little Rock toward the end of April, so we decided it would be a good time to take the kids to the zoo. They had a blast, and other than the wind, it was a very enjoyable day!

Here are a few pictures from our day at the zoo.

I'm not sure how they convinced me to do this!

Fireman Blaine - Love this picture!

On the train!

This was Bryce's favortie place to hang out!

My cute little squirel - Bryce

Blaine with smokey........check out that wind-blown look!

This is what happens when you try to take their picture together!!

Bryce's First Birthday!

2011-06-17T13:51:00.004-04:00

Okay..........So I'm only a little over two months behind!!! Bryce had a wonderful first birthday. Todd made him a very cute 'hot air balloon' birthday cake, and I took care of the bright blue cupcakes! He got lots of fun new toys and had fun being the center of attention!
A couple of weeks after his birthday, he had his one year check up! He weighed in at 18lbs. 4oz. and he was 28in. tall. These were in the 2nd and 4th percentiles respectively. He is still our small fry, but at least he's well proportioned! He doesn't look super skinny or anything........just little and increadibly cute!!

Here are a few pictures from his birthday party!

Blaine's Birthday and Bryce Walking

2011-03-11T12:29:00.007-05:00

We've had a busy week!!! We had Blaine's third birthday on Saturday, Bryce cut his first tooth on Sunday, Blaine turned three on Monday, and Bryce turned 11 months old on Tuesday!! Blaine had a great Birthday party, even though we ended up having to move it in-doors because of the weather. I think the bounce house may have been more fun (i.e. easier for the adults) than the park would have been anyway!!! Todd and I made a Mickey Mouse cake, trying our hand at fondant for the first time. We thought it turned out quite well, especially considering we made our own fondant. And just in case you were wondering, homemade fondant tastes MUCH better than store bought!! Blaine got many exciting gifts for his birthday, but I think the highlight was probably his new 'big boy' bicycle!! Bryce had a blast at the party too........he had plenty of people to give him LOTS of attention. What more does a baby need?

On to Bryce related topics. He is growing and changing every day! He started walking about three weeks ago (a little past 10 months) and gets a little better at it each day. I'm still not sure I would consider it his main means of transportation though...........He walks till he falls down and then he crawls to the nearest object or person, then gets up and does the same things again. When he is super excited or in a big hurry to get somewhere, he intentionally drops to knees and crawls as fast as his little hands and knees will get him there! He is begining to say several words now including Ma-ma, Da-da, bye-bye, bye, bite, ball, hi, and uh-uh (uh-oh). His favorite past-time is eating!!! More often than not, if we sit down for a meal, he eats more than Blaine does these days! This is especially funny considering his weight is barely even on the charts at the 3rd percentile!! I'm really not sure where he puts it all!

I will leave you all with a few pictures from Blaine's Birthday party!

Catching up, Christmas and Snickerdoodles

2010-12-21T22:39:00.005-05:00

Well, once again, I am behind. We had a lovely thanksgiving.............make that three! We had lunch with Todd's family, the afternoon at Mamaw Turley's and Dinner with my family. It was busy, but not rushed, and we enjoyed visiting with all of our family!
Let's see..........my birthday was next! I am now another decade older, but really 30 is just a number!! We had dinner for my birthday a couple of times........including an excellent steak prepared by my wonderful father-in-law!
Within a day or two of my birthday, Bryce finally decided he would like to be mobile. And, really, that's all it took. Once he decided he wanted to go somewhere.........he was off, and after crawling for only a couple of days, he starting pulling up on everything! Now he's beginning to cruise around the furniture.........it's all over with but the crying!! I now have TWO mobile kiddos to chase!
I believe that brings us to Christmas!!! We had a GREAT Christmas.....or maybe it was SEVEN! Blaine was so into it this year, and that made it so much more fun for all of us. Everytime he saw Santa, he asked for "a bulldozer and a little dump-truck to go with his big dump-truck at home!" Santa of course pulled through, and we've been scoopin' dirt ever since. Blaine 'ordered' a choo-choo train for Bryce and that is naturally exactly what he recieved! The funniest thing was that Blaine used a string from his robe to tie his bulldozer to Bryce's train, and then requested that we put Bryce on the train so he could pull him around! It was too cute! Bryce enjoyed all of the paper and extra holding, loving and attention he got..........I'm sure he'll enjoy his presents later too!! The boys got a great couch from Nana and Papa and a whole family of puppy dog pillow pets from various other people! The biggest 'hit' of Christmas as far as the presents were concerned was probably the (very inexpensive) 'Band'. Blaine has had a MILD (or maybe EXTREME) obsession with the band since football season. He loves everything band related, and has used everything from coat hangers to gun holsters as a 'band'. Grammy got him a Mickey Mouse band set.............and we've ALL been playing in the band!!

Todd and Blaine playing in the band on Christmas Eve

Todd and Boys after opening presents at Grammy's house

Bryce ready to eat dinner!

I guess I'm sort of back -tracking, but we have a family tradition of making snickerdoodles at Todd's parents house during the week leading up to Christmas. We usually make 3 to 4 double batches of these delicious little cookies. We eat lots of them, and share the rest with friends and family. This was Blaine's first year to participate in the snickerdoodle experience, and he LOVED every minute of it! Here are some pictures of the cookie making process.......

Halloween and Catching Up

2010-11-06T21:49:00.004-04:00

Needless to say, I'm more than a little behind again. We've been busy, as usual for the last two months. Football every Friday night, and lots of things to fill up the days in between.
Bryce had his 6 month check up on 10/11/2010 and weighed in at 14 lbs. even he was also an even 25 in. This put him in the 5th and 10th percentiles respectively. Although he is quite small, he is perfectly proportioned! He is changing like crazy and will be 7 months old tomorrow. He started sleeping in his room this past week, and did great with it. He has always slept in his own bed, just in our room, so I guess that was mostly just for me! When I started disturbing him every time I moved, I decided it was time to move him out. It's a long way across the house, but at least I have a video monitor. Now we're all sleeping a little better.

Blaine is growing up way to fast. Our conversations with him these days are very entertaining. He has recently become obsessed with 'the band' as he calls it. I'm sure this is from us frequenting football games and 'peppew-wallies'. He has an impressive imagination and can turn almost anything into a 'band'. This is usually followed by him insisting that we all stand and put our hand on our 'tummy' and the other hand behind our back while he hums his version of the star spangled banner. Next up is usually the direction to hold your hand in the air with the other behind your back while he hums his version of the Murfreesboro Alma Matter. Then we must cheer for the rattlers and the 'peppew-wally' is over.

We had a nice Halloween. Todd and Blaine.......mostly Todd carved a good looking jack-o-lantern. We set it out at Grammy's house while we went trick-or-treating, which Blaine loved! He was dressed as a monkey and was a little apprehensive at first, but once he started to see his bucket filling up with candy...........he was over it! Bryce didn't really have a costume.........just a cute Halloween outfit! He enjoyed riding in the stroller and eventually went to sleep.

These first three pictures were taken several weeks ago on a Sunday morning before church, and the others are obviously Halloween pics! ENJOY!

Bryce - 5 months

2010-09-25T21:26:00.002-04:00

It's been a busy month!
Football season is in full swing, and we've already had homecoming. Bryce turned 5 months old, and Blaine is officially 2 1/2!
We have enjoyed attending pep-rallies to cheer on our Rattlers, and hot, sticky football games to cheer them on some more. We are, however, looking forward to some cooler weather for our cheering!! The boys both LOVE going to the games. Bryce is a people watcher and enjoys sitting with Mamaw B.J. on the sidelines. Blaine enjoys what he understands of the game and cheering for 'Matt-Matt'........who just happens to play on every team and in every game, according to Blaine! AND, Mommy and Daddy enjoy being able to send them both to Grammy and Gramps's by half-time so they can ENJOY the second half of the game!!!
Blaine is learning to count and LOVES to sing.....many of his songs even have words in them now. He's also learned to recite several nursery rhymes!
Bryce had a check up this month and weighed in at 12lbs. 13oz. and 24 in. long, which are in the 5th and 10th percentiles respectively. He's my small-fry! He has started to eat oatmeal and peas and is looking forward to trying carrots this coming week. He wasn't too sure about eating 'real' food at first, but after the first couple of days he got the hang of it. He's also sitting up by himself and is developing quite a personality!
Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy!

Bryce's first bites of oatmeal

Blaine and Rylan watching the homecoming parade

Me and my "LITTLE" brother

Matt-Matt and the boys at homecoming

Bryce - 4 months

2010-08-11T14:37:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that 4 months have past since our sweet Bryce was born. He is so happy and such a blessing!
He had a check-up on July 21, at 3 1/2 months. He weighed in at 12 lbs. 8 oz and was 23 in. long. This put his weight in the 25th percentile and his height in the 10th percentile. For any of you who know Blaine, this all comes as quite a shock. Blaine was always in the 75th - 90th percentiles for weight at this stage in his life and usually around the 50th in height! So, I guess I have one big one and one little one. Bryce is plenty fat and very healthy; he's just a little guy! He's learning to do all kinds of knew things. He's always been a good sleeper, waking up only once each night since he was only 2 weeks old, but about three weeks ago he began sleeping all night. I usually put him down between 9 and 9:30, and he usually sleeps until 7 or 7:30 (or until Blaine comes in making too much noise for anyone to sleep!) He really seems to enjoy playing with his toys.......much more than Blaine did at this age. And, just today he started rolling over! He sits up well with support for balance, so I'm sure that will be his next new trick. Here are a few pictures of Bryce taken on his 4 month 'birthday'!

Football 2010

2010-08-11T14:09:00.002-04:00

As most of you know, my brother, Matt will be a senior this year. Blaine thinks he and his friends are the most wonderful thing EVER!! Media day was last week, and I took the boys to take a few pictures with 'Matt-Matt' and his friends!

July

2010-07-16T16:05:00.004-04:00

It seems I just can't keep up with this blog lately.....okay for quite some time now. I will do my best to catch up with at least a few pictures.

The boys are both doing great. Bryce is growing like crazy and changing everyday. He is beginning to develop his own little personality which is fun to watch! He is a happy baby and is sleeping quite well!

Blaine is a good big brother......most of the time. He ocassionally tries to stick thinkgs in Bryce's eyes, ears, nose, and or mouth, but he mostly just wants to love on him and hold him. He likes to 'help' change his diaper and give him his passy.

Blaine is also developing quite a personality himself. He has become so much more expressive in the past month. Some of his speech is still a little difficult to decifer, but he certainly knows what he's saying and what he wants!!! He is very head-strong (can't imagine where he gets that!! :) He is also proud that he is wearing 'big-boy' pants (underwear) all the time now, except at bed-time. We were still using diapers at bed-time, but he is now pretty insistent on pull-ups instead. He is so much fun, and I must often remind myself of that when he is laying in the floor because things didn't go quite the way he had planned...........Gotta love 2, in all it's glory!!

Here are some pics of the boys from the 4th of July! It is impossible to catch them both looking at the camera...........

Bath Time and Fishing Fun!

2010-05-21T22:55:00.002-04:00

Again, my pictures have loaded in reverse order......I really must learn how to fix that problem!! Gramps recently got Blaine his first fishing pole and a new life jacket for the boat! Blaine was thrilled.........Today he got to go fishing with Daddy and Gramps in Nana's pond, and he 'caught' his first fish.

Here he is with Gramps and the fish

Daddy, Blaine, and the fish

Here is Blaine working on his casting skills (or lack there of)

And Blaine and Bryce recently took their first bath together! Blaine enjoyed it greatly and Bryce, well, he may have gotten a little more water in his face than he was accustom to!

Life with Bryce

2010-05-09T18:12:00.004-04:00

Blaine is very into baseball right now. He LOVES to hit the ball!

Bryce's first trip to church

Ready for a baseball game!

This is the outfit and blanket we wanted to bring him home from the hospital in, but it was WAY to big. I had to send my mom out to get a premie outfit, and he really wasn't that tiny!

Trying to get a picture of these two together is impossible. Bryce always looks like he's trying to get away or begging for help!

Just after his first bath at home

First bath at home......I have a picture of Blaine that looks EXACTLY like this. I mean I'm not sure I could even tell them apart!

Bryce turned 1 month old yesterday. Unfortunately none of these pictures were taken yesterday because my camera battery died!!! I did get a couple with Grammy's camera, but I don't have those with me right now.............I will try to post them later.

Bryce is growing like a weed and getting cuter every day! He is a good baby and usually sleeps for about 6 hours during his first stretch each night. Our only problem is what seem to be regular tummy aches each evening. Some would probably call it collic, but it's really not true collic because I can get him to calm down by walking and bouncing. It really seems to be excessive gas that he just can't get rid of......other than that he is a good baby!! He's already been shopping alot, and he's been to at least 4 or 5 baseball games and church!!

Week before last the boys and I made our first solo trip to Wal-Mart! It was a smashing success. (I certainly don't expect future trips to be that easy!) Blain enjoyed the bus-like cart with the extra child attachment, and Bryce just slept.

So far Blaine seems to have adjusted well to being a big brother! He loves Bryce and likes to 'hold' him. He will try to give him his passy when he's crying, and he's always wanting to know if 'Baby Bryce' can play baseball with him. I think my favorite is when we are getting ready to leave, Blaine will walk over to Bryce's swing or bouncy seat and say, "Come on Baby Bryce, let's go"! He says it as if Bryce can just get up and walk out the door.

They are both wonderfully sweet boys, and we are so blessed to have such happy healthy children!

Bryce is Here!

2010-04-16T22:34:00.005-04:00

Baby Bryce is here!
He weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 21 1/2 in. long
He is doing great and has a big brother who is VERY proud of him!

Christmas Pictures and Getting Ready for Bryce!

2010-02-24T16:51:00.004-05:00

So I guess I'm still WAY behind, since it is February and I am just now posting Christmas pics! I really do want to do better, but it's hard when you don't have internet at your own house.

We are all doing well. Blaine is growing like crazy and will be 2 next weekend......it's hard to believe two years have already gone by.
We have been trying to get ready for baby Bryce, and mom and I have been busy painting and sewing to get both of the boys rooms ready. Since all of Blaine's furniture needed to be moved to Bryce's room, we upgraded him to a "Big Boy" bed a couple of weeks ago! He took to it like a pro!! He loves his new bed! Bryce's room is almost complete too........just curtains and his name left to hang. I can hardly believe he'll be here in 6-7 more weeks.

Todd is staying busy too.......completing all of my 'honey-dos'! He's been a real sport about it though!

WAY Behind!!!

2009-12-12T09:34:00.005-05:00

I know I have been a HORRIBLE blogger!! But, alot has happened in our lives since the last time I blogged.

At the end of May we bought a house in Roy, Arkansas...............It is just outside of Murfreesboro. We had to do a little repair work and moved in at the beginning of June. We are all settled in and loving our new home.

In July/August we took a vacation with Todd's family to Gatlinburg, Tn. We had a lovely time (except for some unwanted rain), and a close encounter with a bear!!!

Shortly after that trip we found out we were expecting our second child, and have since learned that it is another BOY!! Bryce Wilson Kimery (We think that will be his name, but we reserve the right to change our minds!) is due to join us mid-April.

The fall has been lots of fun with trips to the pumpkin patch and halloween with our cute little Elmo.

Now we're getting all geared up for Christmas, which is always a little crazy with all the places we get to go to visit with family!!!

Hopefully that catches us up! I will try to get some Holiday pictures up soon, and I promise to try to do better!!

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure!

Blaine at the Pumpkin Patch

Again

Just being CUTE!

And CUTER!

And Cheesy CUTE!

Elmo playing golf

And Elmo ready for Trick or Treating!

Entertainment and Leftover Easter Pics......

2009-05-05T22:11:00.008-04:00

As Blaine gets older, he is increasingly becoming more and more entertaining. He is into EVERYTHING!!! By the time I get him out of one thing he is already into something else. I love his curiosity.........Well, most of the time anyway!!

I also love how much he is able to understand and how well he is able to follow directions (When he wants to!). It is amazing to me that I can tell him to go get something and what to do with that something, and he is able to do it.

He makes several animal sounds.........the cow is still his all time favorite sound, and dog is his favorite animal word. Pretty much everything with four legs is called a dog! He loves to sing "if your happy and you know it" and will clap and stomp at the appropriate times. Balls are his favorite toys. He loves to throw them and then clap and yell 'YA' for himself........It's really cute. He's also started clapping and shouting 'Ya' anytime he does what he's been asked to do. The other day Todd's mom told him to close a door to a cabinet he was not supposed to be in, and he did. Then, he began clapping and saying 'ya'! He's quite the entertainer!

He also loves his bath time with his Daddy.......sometimes around bath time he will run to the bathroom saying 'bath, bath, bath'.

He has a new found love for 4-wheelers. My dad has been taking him on rides on his 4-wheeler, and now he often runs to the door and saying 'bu, bu, bu, bu, bu' (his version of buddin' buddin' or the sound a 4-wheeler makes). When he gets outside he runs straight to the shop saying the same thing.

He is such a joy, and we are so very blessed to have him!

This picture is simply for your entertainment. We were trying to take a picture before we left for church on Easter morning, and this is what we got. I don't even remember what Blaine and I thought was so funny, and I certainly don't know why Todd was picking his nose!

We did get a few good ones too! Here we are with my 'not so' little brother, Matt.

Blaine and Daddy

Mommy and Blaine

Family pics are hard to come by!

Blaine

Us with Todd's Mom, Dad, and Brother (Greg)

First Easter Egg Hunt!

2009-04-09T10:09:00.004-04:00

Blaine was very excited to participate in his first Easter egg hunt! We got all of the younger children together before church on Wednesday night, and they had a blast. I was quite impressed that Blaine knew exactly what to do. He wanted to play with the eggs before we got started, and we wouldn't let him. So when we finally let him go after them, he was very excited. He went straight to the eggs and started picking them up and putting them in his little bucket! It was so cute!

The Group before the hunt

This is Blaine with his friend, Kinleigh, after the hunt. They are only three week apart in age, and are almost exactly the same size.

Happy Birthday!

2009-03-07T23:17:00.008-05:00

I can't believe a year has already passed since our precious little boy came into our lives! He has been such a blessing to us all over the last year. Many times we wonder what we did before we had him to entertain us. He is full of engery and mischief these days.......He is definately his father's son. I can often see his mischievious little wheels spinning just as fast as they can. One day last week, in under 10 minutes, he had put dog food into the dog's water bowl, dumped the water onto the floor, slipped and fell in the water, and put his shoes in the toilet. He's also talking up a storm and will attempt to repeat most anything you say. He is such a problem solver like his daddy. He will work on something forever just to get it where he wants it or how he wants it. The other day, he tore up a napkin and carefully places each piece of it into an ice bucket, but one piece kept hanging out a little bit. He repeatedly removed the piece and put it back into the bucket until it was completely in the bucket with no pieces hanging out, then he put the lid on. He is so much fun............We are so thankful God has intrusted us with him!

We had a fun Birthday party today filled with lots of family, presents, and yummy cake that turned us all different colors.

He really cared NOTHING about opening the presents. He just wanted to play with them after I opened them!

The cake!

The barn scene cake that Todd and I.................MOSTLY TODD worked so hard on!

Blaine's Cake!Singing Happy Birthday!He was very unsure about what to do with his cake.

But after Daddy gave him a bite............I think he understood!

I realize you can't see his mouth, but you can still tell that's he laughing!!Sharing with Daddy!

First Hair Cut

2009-02-18T22:17:00.008-05:00

Today, my sweet little boy got his very first haircut. Todd had been bugging me for weeks to get Blaine's hair cut, but with Todd's long hours, it was difficult to find a time when we could both be there. The lady who cut his hair is the same lady who cuts both mine and Todd's. Blaine was as good as you can ask an 11 month old to be. He sat perfectly still the entire time. It's amazing how removing such a very little amount of hair can change a baby's looks so much. I can't believe how time flies!

2009-01-31T18:55:00.003-05:00

To say that I am a little behind would be quite an understatement. I will try to catch you all up a little.
Blaine took his first steps at the beginning of December and was walking by his 9 month birthday.
We successfully made the move back to Arkansas in early December.
Todd started his new job the week following our move, and he is enjoying it very much (well, except for the drive!)
Christmas was great, although extremely busy. We had 5 or 6 separate Christmases, and I have posted those pictures on my facebook and myspace pages.
Blaine finally got his first tooth on the 1st of January. It was followed by the second tooth on the 2nd of January, and the third and fourth also came in the same week. Surprisingly enough, he really wasn't cranky about it at all!!
January has been pretty uneventful overall. We've just been trying to settle into some sort of routine.
Blaine is talking up a storm, which is really a lot of fun. He NEVER meets a stranger. He is always so friendly to the many people who stop to talk to him when we go places. When we left Florida, he only said 'bye bye'. Now he also says hi, bite, mama, dada, and uh-uh (for uh-oh). He will also moo like a cow if you ask him what the cow says, and he attempts to say ball and book. I never dreamed he would be this much fun!!
Here are a few pictures of our day at the park today. Todd's parents live just down the road from the city park, and they got Blaine a wagon for Christmas. Today was a beautiful day, so we decided to take the wagon for drive to the park. Blaine had a blast running around and playing with his ball!

First Steps

2008-12-05T21:30:00.004-05:00

Blaine took his first steps on Monday, and he has been progressing quickly since then. He has started standing then squatting down to pick up a toy and then standing up again. He has also started to let go of whatever it is he is holding and walk to where ever it is he wants to go. He and I were just playing tonight, and he thought it was hilarious when I would pick him up and have him start again. He eventually got so tickled that he couldn't even stand up!! Enjoy!

***Remember to see the video you have to go to our blog.
http://www.kimerykaos.blogspot.com

Explorations!

2008-11-24T15:04:00.005-05:00

Blaine is definitely his father's son! He is such a little explorer. We usually keep a gate up to block off the den because that is where we keep the dog's food and water. We just raise the gate up off the floor a little so the dogs can squeeze under, but Blaine can't. This was working wonderfully until my little explorer figured out how to squeeze himself under the gate. He spent several days trying to figure out how to accomplish this. At first he would lie flat on the ground and look under the gate, but he couldn't figure out how to move in this position.........Alas he figured it out!
After he knew how to go under the gate........there was no stopping him. The gate is now on the ground, so if my dogs starve to death, you'll all know why!
On the same day he learned how to go under the gate, he decided to get really adventurous and tried to get under the bed. Unfortunately, we have lots of things under our bed, so he got stuck!! Todd was disappointed that I didn't take a picture of that, but I really thought it would be cruel to leave him there while I went to get the camera!

He's also been working on his balance lately. He likes to stand by himself! He's not walking yet, but I don't expect it to be too much longer........Then we're really in for it!

Exciting News!!

2008-11-10T13:00:00.002-05:00

After two LONG months of anticipations, I am extremely excited to be able to share this news with you all!
WE'RE MOVING!!
Where, you may ask?
Todd has accepted a position as a Chemical Engineer for Domtar Industries in Ashdown, Arkansas. He plans to start mid December. We will be staying with our parents in Murfreesboro, Arkansas while we try to anticipate what's going to happen with the economy (more specifically, the housing market). We have had our house here on the market for a few months now, with very minimal activity. We ultimately plan to relocate to the Texarkana area!
I can't tell you all how excited we are to be moving HOME! We love our life, our Church, and our friends here in Florida, and we will miss them all tremendously. We have been so blessed to have such caring friends and a wonderful church family. But, we always knew the time would come when we would want to move closer to our family........That time is now!
I had always told Todd that once we had children I would want to move closer to home, but I never realized how much I would want that. Having Blaine has made me realize how much our family is missing out on with us being so far away. Over the past eight months as I have watched Blaine grow, learn, and change before my very eyes, it has been so exciting; however, it has also been a bit bitter sweet. Seeing him grow and change so quickly makes me realize just how much all of those who love him really are missing out on.
I am so excited we will be able to share our joy with them!
MANY hours of prayer were heard and have been answered!

What a Busy Day!

2008-11-04T20:31:00.005-05:00

My day began with Todd waking me to tell me goodbye at 5:30 this morning. Yes, he went to work at 5:30 this morning!!! Blaine and I were up at 6:45, and by 8:00 we had eaten, showered, gotten ready, and were out the door. We then drove to the polls to stand in line for an hour and a half waiting to vote.... Todd joined us about half way through the wait. Blaine is such a good baby.....He waited so patiently even though he and I both were ill-prepared for the weather! The forecast was sunny with a high of 78. However, the temperature never got out of the 60's, and it was overcast all day. Fortunately I did at least have Blaine in pants........but no socks on those cold little toes. Anyway, we finally got to vote, and then Todd and Blaine headed home while I went to work. I tutor on Tuesdays, and Todd works from home so he can keep Blaine. But today Todd needed to go back to work before I got home, so after a morning nap, it was off to play with Jayden and Kelso for a couple of hours! Not a problem for Blaine; he loves to be entertained by Jayden, and Jayden LOVES to entertain him. Jayden squeals with joy when Blaine comes over, and it seems to be virtually impossible for her to curb her enthusiam. The funny thing is Jayden has her very own little brother who is only 2 months older than Blaine, but I think maybe the new has already worn off of him!! Anyway, Blaine had a blast crawling through the new tunnel Jayden got for her birthday,

and he even got invited to his very first tea party. Amy pointed out that Blaine looks less than thrilled about this tea party. He's obviously learning early that sometimes its easier to just appease the women!!

I got off work just in time to pick Blaine up and bring him home for a nap. Then he woke up ready to go, go, go. He's such a busy boy! He's started walking behind his push toy this week. It's so cute, and he thinks it's hillarious!! He's also learned how to climb onto his new chair......not climb as in the sitting sense, but climb in the sense that he's standing in the chair. I'm affraid the child has many injuries in his future!! Let's just hope he's not as accident prone as his daddy!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T19:57:00.006-04:00

I just wanted to share some of our fun Halloween pictures with you all!

The day started with Todd taking these "Witches fingers" to work for a creepy Halloween lunch party. (They are actually cookies!)

Then Blaine and I stopped by Todd's office to check out all the costumes and creepy food. The 'Witches Fingers' were, by far, the scariest and most realistic looking food there.

Todd dressed up as an M&M. We made this costume a couple of years ago for a costume party!

This is Blaine with Laura, a co-worker of Todd's.

These are some of the people who dressed up for the party.

After Todd got home from work, we attempted to take some pictures of our three pumpkins together. Just so you know, it is virtually impossible to get two dogs and a baby to all sit still AND look at the camera at the same time. But, these were our best efforts!

I'm not sure why it looks like Blaine is constipated in these pictures!

After a short nap and some dinner, Blaine changed into his evening costume.........NEMO! This costume was given to us, and I thought it would be more comfortable for him to crawl around in while we were passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. However, we only had five trick-or-treaters, and they all came together!! SO...............if Todd and I are fat next time you see us, you'll know why!

Sweet Fish!

Surprised Fish!

Fish From the Back.

Silly Fish......Trying to be SCARY!

Happy Halloween!

It's 9:00pm; Where is Your Husband?

2008-10-30T23:49:00.004-04:00

It's 9:00pm. The children have been put to bed, and the house is nice and quiet. Where is your husband? Winding down from a hard day in front of the television? In his recliner? Remote in hand, watching baseball or football, or perhaps he's flipping aimless through the channels.
NOT MY HUSBAND!! Nope! He's just getting started...........
Started doing what, you might ask.
Why, what else.........performing an autopsy on a fish, OF COURSE!! What else would a sensible man do when a fish dies? Certainly NOT simply flush it down the toilet!! The 'Mad Scientist' must discover the cause of this poor fish's untimely demise!
YES! He is somewhat disturbed! :)

Boy Meets Dog Bowl!

2008-10-24T19:47:00.004-04:00

Blaine LOVES to play in the dog's food and water bowls. In fact, I have moved the dog's food and water bowls to a very inconspicuous place. My hope was that he wouldn't see them all the time, and thus wouldn't think about getting into them. WRONG!! Even though they are hidden out of plain sight, the little stinker still remembers where they are and goes for them every chance he gets! Yesterday morning I was cleaning the house, and Blaine was being most cooperative. I managed to sweep, vacuum, mop, and dust all before his morning nap. He jumped in his doorway jumper for the sweeping and vacuuming and played in the floor while I mopped and dusted. He even stayed out of my way and didn't get into anything! I was very impressed, as he usually wants to be right under my feet while I do these things. I had just finished with everything, and was putting something away when I realized he had disappeared. I figured he had probably gone to the dog food bowl, but I knew there wasn't any dog food in it. So, I wasn't too concerned. I finished what I was doing and walked into the den to find this...........

Apparently this high quality dog food bowl, purchased from the 'dollar spot' at Target, has a nice little black rim around it that when chewed on leaves nice black greasiness all over little boys!! SO........I just thought I was finished cleaning for the day!!

Mohawks and Bathtime!

2008-10-13T21:30:00.004-04:00

Just thought I would share a few cute pictures..............

Blaine wanted to support the Tampa Bay Rays tonight, so he decided to sport a mohawk after his bath!

Here's the side view
This is a picture from when we were in Arkansas a couple of weeks ago.
Bathtime at Grammy's

Randomness

2008-10-09T08:51:00.008-04:00

I know it has been entirely too long since I've posted an update. We all made a trip to Arkansas to visit family. Todd was able to join us for the trip but had to return a week before Blaine and I. We all had a nice visit, and thanks to Grammy's planning were able to get some really good pictures.
Daddy is being silly!

Here's our little Razorback......This is Uncle Greg's Razorback statue.

This is a tractor that Daddy and Uncle Greg played on when they were little boys.

Daddy was just playing with camera settings when he took this picture.

Fall is in the air......Not in Florida, but maybe somewhere~

Blaine continues to grow like a weed, and he is constantly on the move. He is such a busy little guy. As Todd says he likes to play with anything he thinks he's not supposed to play with. I pulled dog food out of his mouth too many times to count before finally moving the dog food to a different location. He is pulling up on EVERYTHING and has already taken a few spills. Here is a picture of one of his favorite things to do.

He loves to look out the sliding glass door. While he used to sit on the rug and look out, he has now figured out how to pull up on the door to see even more!!

A Family Photo

2008-09-21T21:05:00.004-04:00

It's only taken us 6 1/2 months, but we finally have a family photo.........minus the dogs, but I'm sure we'll have get to that eventually!

We have been staying busy with normal everyday stuff.......cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and of course playing with the new camera. Now we are trying to get everything here taken care of before we leave on Wednesday for our visit to Arkansas.

Blaine is growing like crazy and becomes increasingly entertaining each and every day! He is getting much faster and more adventurous daily. He is starting to pull up on things and has already taken several tumbles onto our nice hard tile floors. Yesterday, he tried to crawl into the dishwasher to help me with the dishes. He loves to crawl into the kitchen and try to get to the dog food before one of us has a chance to get him, and he has started following us around the house.........Todd especially enjoys this because he likes that Blaine wants to be where he is!!

We look forward to seeing you all soon!!

Cars that Go Vroom!

2008-09-16T21:09:00.004-04:00

Todd has been anxious to get Blaine on this little car. Kayla got it for him several months ago. It converts from a rocker to a ride-on toy to a push behind. It also has a handle that allows someone else to push Blaine on it. This is the part that Todd has been so excited to try out. Last time we got it out, Blaine wasn't quite ready for it, but this time he was! Todd pushed him all over the house, and Chloe chased him. Blaine thought the whole thing was hysterical!!

**Remember, you have to be on the blog site to view the video**
http://www.kimerykaos.blogspot.com

He has also started trying to pull up on things over the last couple of days. Here are a few pictures of him trying to pull up on his swing. He doesn't quite understand that his swing is not stationary and is probably not the best choice for stability!!

A New Camera

2008-09-13T20:15:00.003-04:00

After much anticipation, our new camera has arrived! I thought Todd was going to make me drive Drive to the Orlando Fed Ex location on Thursday night because he just didn't think he could wait until Friday. He managed to wait another 24 hours.....lucky for me!! I don't think he's put it down except to sleep........well, he did mow the lawn today too. Then, we went to the park to take a few pictures.............I use 'a few' very loosely here. I think he's taken over 400 pictures since last night. Thank goodness for Digital technology!! That was our problem with our other cannon rebel......it was a 35mm. It takes wonderful pictures, but Todd likes to take hundreds of pictures. Having that many developed gets pretty expensive after a while. Anyway, so far we are very impressed with the camera, as we should be. It wasn't cheap!! Here are a few of my favorites. I'll post more later.

Savings

2008-09-12T17:01:00.003-04:00

Okay, I know I insinuated that my savings post would be a one time thing, but this was a very impressive trip to Walgreen's. I just had to share it for those of you who are bargain shoppers.
Here's what I got:
4 Bags of Chex Mix
3 Cans of Progresso Soup
1 Sunsilk Shampoo
1 Sunsilk Conditioner
2 Cans of Crab Meat
2 Tubes of Colgate Toothpaste
1 Box of Excedrin Migraine Express Gels
1 Bottle of Crest Pro Health Mouthwash
3 Bottles of Dimetap
2 Dove Chocolate Bars
2 Herbert's Chocolate Bars
1 Bottle of Walgreens acid controller
1 Bottle of Shout
1 Can of Scrubbing Bubbles Foaming Cleaner
2 Scrubbing Bubbles Scrubbing pad starter kits
2 Cans of Oust Air and Surface Sanitizer
1 Gallon of Milk
These Items Cost: $121.19
I paid out of pocket: 35.87
I will receive in Rebates: $13.73
I received in Register Rewards (Walgreen's Money): $19.50
So, the actual cost for all of these items is.......$2.64

Clean your floors!

2008-09-08T22:23:00.005-04:00

Blaine is on the move!! We hope to be home for a visit in a few weeks, so if you don't clean your floors, he will!
The following video clip is actually three different short snippets put together. Please take note of his motivators. He twice passes toys by in order to reach his ultimate goal! He is quite funny!

Six Months Old!

2008-09-07T20:21:00.002-04:00

Our Little Man Turned Six Months Old Today!

It's hard to believe that six months have past since our Precious baby boy arrived!! At the same time, I often wonder what we did before we had him. He brings so much joy to our lives, and we feel so blessed to have him. He is such a happy baby and is constantly making us laugh. Many nights we find ourselves sitting in the living room just watching him practice his latest trick. I guess that means we really are old, but that's okay! We like it! Both of these pictures were taken this morning before we left for church.
Tonight Blaine entertained us by crawling to get a bite of cool whip!! (I have this on video and will try to post it soon. Todd is not home right now, and I need his editing skills.) It was only a little crawling and probably just as much lunging, but he was definitely motivated! He is also motivated by computer cords and puppy dog tails. Chloe moves a little too much for him, but Molli just lays there patiently waiting for him to get a big handful of fur or sometimes ear. She occasionally whimpers but never runs away or tries to retaliate. They are such good dogs!

Bubbles and Ponies

2008-09-06T20:45:00.003-04:00

Let's see...........where to begin. I know it has been over a week since I last posted and even longer since I have posted pictures of Blaine. We've been keeping busy with all of our normal daily activities. Blaine is eating all kinds of baby food these days. In less than a month he has progressed from stage 1 baby food to stage 3 baby food (the kind with pieces in it). Today he actually starting eating very small pieces of table food, which he very much enjoys. I have yet to find anything he doesn't like. Today he had watermelon for the first time, and he really seemed to like it alot. He is so very close to crawling. He started moving his hands this week, along with his knees. Now he just has to learn how to move them so that they are working for him instead of against him. Right now for each foot of forward progress he makes, he looses about two feet going backwards.
The following pictures are from Friday night's bath time. Todd gives Blaine his bath almost every night, and Blaine LOVES his bath time. I know you all have seen bath pictures, but these were just too cute not to share!

This is "Crabby", Blaine's favorite bath tub toy.

Today Blaine went to his first birthday party. Peyton, a little girl we know from church, was turning 3, and she invited Blaine to her party. This is Blaine before we left to go to the party. His Daddy asked him if he was going to try to pick up chicks at this party. I think that was his way of telling Blaine that he looked cute!This was a 'Fancy-Shmancy' party, complete with pony rides!
Oh YES, Blaine did ride this pony all by himself!
Don't worry Daddy wasn't very far away. Todd and the pony's owner each stood on one side of the pony as Blaine rode around the circle, just like all of the big kids.
Then he decided it would be fun to eat the saddle horn!! Todd had to keep pulling his face away from it, so he didn't get a big mouth full!!

SAVINGS

2008-08-29T13:47:00.003-04:00

Okay, this post will be very different from most of my posts. I have been clipping coupons and trying to find good deals for the past few weeks. A couple of friends and I have been doing this together, and it has really turned into a game. Our husbands all laugh at us and make fun of us, but we are convinced that they will eventually be appreciative of all the money we are saving them!! So I have to tell you about the good deals Blaine and I got this morning.
At Walgreen's we bought:
2 John Frieda Conditioners
1 John Frieda Shampoo
1 John Frieda Mouse
2 Jumbo size Huggies diapers
1 Crest Pro Health tooth paste
1 Lypsil lip moisturizer
1 Chemistry Conditioner
1 Glade scented oil candle with refills
1 Oust air sanitizer
1 Bic Soliel 4-pack refill cartridges
1 Nivea body wash
6 Boxes Tic-Tacs
2 Rimmel London Mascara
These items cost: $98.29
I paid out of pocket: $43.21
I will receive in Rebates: $20.64
I received in Register Rewards (This is money to be spent at Walgreen's): $11.00
So the actual cost for all of these items is........$11.57

Next we went to CVS. We only needed a couple of things there.
We bought:
1 Children's Advil
1 Gallon of Milk
4 Schick disposable razors
2 boxes ZipFizz energy drink mix
These items cost: $25.16
I paid out of pocket: $11.98
I received in Extra Care Bucks (Money to be spent at CVS.): $11.98
So the actual cost for these items was.......$0

I know most of you could care less about the purchases I make, but there are a couple of you who will really appreciate these fabulous buys!!!

Crazy Hair

2008-08-24T17:06:00.003-04:00

This post is for those of you who keep telling me that my baby is bald. If you look closely at the pictures, you will be able to see the crazy hair he had this morning when he woke up. I'm not sure why he had crazy hair on the top of his head, but he did. It was sticking straight up, and it was very cute. So, I had to take a picture!!

The other pictures were taken just before we left to go to church. Mamaw B.J. got him this outfit, and I especially like the hat. He does so well with hats and looks so cute in them. It's a good thing because apparently lots of little boy outfits come with hats!

WARNING!! Do not be deceived! He only looks like he's crawling. He still hasn't figured out what to do with his hands. He rocks ferociously, does full push ups, and moves his knees back and forth, but he just doesn't know about moving his hands yet. I'm sure it won't be too much long. He gets so angry when he can't go to what he wants, and since he goes backwards (very quickly) he actually gets further away from whatever it is he's trying to get.

Carrots are Orange

2008-08-18T23:27:00.002-04:00

And so are the babies who eat them!!

Blaine has been having carrots for dinner for the last few nights. Last night he was hungry before Todd got home, so I went ahead and fed him. When he was done eating I let him play with his bowl and spoon. He was very funny. He kept looking at his spoon like "How do I work this thing?"

Then he decided he would put it in his mouth, except he missed and almost shoved it in his ear.

Once he finally got it in his mouth, he was very proud of himself.

He continued to play with his spoon while I finished cooking dinner.

Then he started to get a little fussy. I think it was because he had finally gotten all of the carrots off of his spoon. He kept grunting at me like he wanted more. I'm sure you're all thinking, 'If he wanted more, why didn't you just give him more.' He wasn't actually hungry, and considering he is still nursing just as much now as he was before we began solid foods, he certainly didn't NEED any more. I mean you have all seen him, right? Poor thing is so malnourished looking! Anyway, by the end of it all, he was in a full pout about having an empty spoon!
I couldn't resist taking a picture! However, you'll be happy to know that as soon as I cleaned him up and got him out of his highchair, he was back to his happy self!

Play Time

2008-08-17T22:26:00.004-04:00

Tonight after we got home from church, Todd and Blaine had a little play time while I played photographer. Blaine has this little cookie monster plush toy that he loves to play with. He will just sit and chew on it for long periods of time. I think it must be the giant eye balls that are so attractive to him because plush toys with regular eye balls aren't quite as intriguing to him. (I hope this doesn't mean that he will one day bring home a girl with giant eye balls!) So, I know it doesn't look like he likes this toy at all in the first picture. For some reason as soon as I got he camera out, he just looked at it and started to cry. I put the camera down and started talking to him, and he was fine. Then, I picked up the camera again, and he started to cry. We went through this several times before he finally decided it would be okay if I took a few pictures.
Bless his heart! The poor child is just as ticklish as I am. All you have to do is get close to his stomach........ or ribs or feet or neck and he just starts laughing hysterically. He can't help himself.

He also seems to have a new found fascination with hair. He likes to hold it, look at it and PULL IT!! For the first couple of days, I thought he just enjoyed holding on to something soft while he was nursing. But, apparently that is not the case because it happens quite frequently, and as you can see in the picture, Todd is not nursing him!!
They had fun playing in the floor, but when he's done, he's done. Here he is staying, "STOP, DADDY! That's enough for tonight!"

Bed Time

2008-08-14T21:47:00.002-04:00

Tonight as I was putting Blaine to bed, I was thinking about how much I love doing that. Bed time is probably my most favorite part of the day. At any other time during the day, he is likely to fight his sleep. He may or may not let me hold him close and just love him, but bed time is different. After he's had his bath, has been slathered in lotion, and has his Jammies on, he's ready to eat and go to sleep. He just lays against me while I rock him. He may not even fall asleep right away, but he just lets me hold him. It's during that time that I reflect on the day.

Tonight I was thinking about how blessed we are to have such a happy and healthy baby, how fortunate I am to be able to stay home with him so that I get to relish each new 'trick' he learns no matter how small. Today, he made his first lunge forward (instead of backwards), and yesterday he started squealing (LOUDLY). Sometimes it's hard not to just lump those things in with the rest of the day, but I try to make sure I never take those small moments for granted, that I never forget to be grateful that God has given me such a happy healthy baby and a husband who is willing to work so hard so that I can stay home with him. God truly has blessed us with so much, and for that I am very thankful.

Peas

2008-08-13T18:53:00.005-04:00

Blaine had peas for dinner tonight. It was his first real baby food. Everything up to this point has just been cereal. We were hoping for some good faces, but this kid seems to like anything you put in his mouth.

He's like a little bird. Any time you come close to him with a spoon, he opens his mouth. If you don't get it there quickly enough, he grunts and leans toward the spoon. He's a funny little guy.

You'll notice how in all of the previous pictures I'm holding his hands. That's because if you don't hold them down, he likes to take a bite and then shove his food the rest of the way in with his hands. (Sharon, that is my manicure from when were home. I told you it would last!)

Blaine's been squealing all day. I guess that's his latest trick.
The following pictures were taken last week. Mimi and Papa sent him this bucket hat from Swaha, and I put the hat on him right after I opened the package. He doesn't seem to mind having something on his head like some kids do. He just goes on about his business.

Todd made it home last night from his business trip to Pensacola, but he came home with a sore throat and head congestion. I'm hoping that it's just allergies, and Blaine and I don't end up with whatever it is.

Play Date

2008-08-11T22:18:00.004-04:00

Blaine had his first play date today. I guess it was really my coupon clipping date instead of his play date, but it was fun none-the-less. Amy Mendez and I have been trying to save some money by clipping coupons and coordinating them with items that are already on sale at certain stores. It's really a lot of fun. Todd and Michael both make fun of us, but one day they'll realize just how much money we're saving them.
Michael and Amy have two children. Jayden will be three in November, and Kelso is only two months older than Blaine. Things started out a little slow for the kid's portion of this date. Jayden was taking a nap when we arrived. About the time she woke up, Kelso decided he needed a nap. As Kelso was waking up, Blaine thought he might as well follow suit, so he went down for a nap in Kelso's bed. Before we left, they were all awake and happy. It was really funny to watch them all playing. Jayden seems to be fascinated with babies, so she entertains quite well. Kelso is crawling all over the place and pulling up on everything, which is also funny to watch. And Blaine, well, he just sits back and watches everything as he rocks on his hands and knees just wishing he could join in the fun. I don't think it will be too much longer. He really wants to be mobile and is quickly acquiring the strength and skills he needs to be that way!
Here are a couple of pictures of the three of them today. Unfortunately my camera batteries died, so I only got a couple. I think Amy has some that are better. I will try to post them soon.

Backing up!

2008-08-09T22:44:00.000-04:00

It has been a quiet week, which has been nice for a change. We've been home almost every night, and have actually had dinner at our dinning room table 5 out of the past 6 nights. Those who have visited us will know what a feat that really is; we usually eat in front of the television. When we first got married, we didn't have a table, and then once we got a table, we didn't have any chairs. So, we started off eating in front of the t.v., and we just never corrected the problem even though we have had both a table and chairs for several years now. This week Blaine turned 5 months old, and we decided it was time for him to begin having dinner with us, just cereal of course. So we decided it was time for us to start eating at the table.

He very much enjoyed his rice cereal and was more than happy to have it for dinner every night last week. Tonight we moved on to oatmeal, which he seemed to enjoy even more than the rice cereal. I can't say that I blame him; it certainly smelled better!

Blaine has also been working very hard trying to figure out how to move himself about. Thus far he can only go backwards, but that he does quite well. This, however, makes him very frustrated because he can see what he wants, but the harder he tries to get to it, the further he gets from it. He has been working very hard to learn how to push up on his hands and knees at the same time. I am pleased to say that after a hard week's work, he was successful. He can now push up on his hands and knees at the same time and hold it for a little bit. As you can see from the pictures below, this requires great concentration. Especially, when you have a puppy dog trying to lick your toes!

Todd has been busy this week too. He has recently purchased items for his "Chemistry Lab", and has been busy 'experimenting'. What "Chemistry Lab" you may ask. Does he actually have a "Chemistry Lab"? NO! This lab is currently set up in the guest bathroom, kitchen, and back porch. Hopefully one day we will have a house that is big enough for all of his toys......well, maybe just some of his toys.

I've just been busy trying to clean up after the two of them. I'm sure this will only become more fun for me when Blaine is actually playing in the "Lab" with him!!

Something New

2008-08-09T22:37:00.002-04:00

Not wanting to be outdone by everyone I know, I decided to start a blog to keep all of our friends and family updated about what happens in our daily lives. Please don't misunderstand, I am not insinuating that our daily lives are incredibly exciting, but most of those who will read this will be interested to know what Blaine has been up to. So, for those who are so far away and don't get to see him as often as we all would like, I will post pictures and notes of his latest 'tricks' and accomplishments.