Happy Daddy Day!!

I know this is a bit late but still wanted to post. Unfortunately Max had to work on Fathers Day but the kids and I went up to visit him for lunch (Five Guys Burgers) and some always needed play time on the firetrucks (Wyatt loves that). I was able to get a couple good snapshots of th kids and Max. 

I could not ask for a better partner in life. Max you are an amazing husband and father but a special thanks this year for supporting me and picking alot of the needed tasks while I am going through my masters program. I love you babe.

A Trip South

On June 10 - 17th Wyatt, Kaylynn and I went with my mom and Micki on a trip to Arkansas and Branson to visit family. My mom took Wyatt from Detriot to St. Louis on the train and Wyatt had a blast. He enjoyed the train ride but I think at times he was ready to be done with the train ride. Micki and I flew to St. Louis with Kaylynn and met mom and Wyatt at the train station. We were all beat that night so we decided not to make the 5 hour car drive and we stayed in Rolla, MO. In the morning we got up and headed out. We got to Bella Vista where the we spent a few days with my mom's side of the family celebrating my Grandma's brothers 50th wedding anniversary. It was so interesting to see at the party Kaylynn was watching alot of the older children run around so she decided she better start walking to keep up and she really took off with walking. Unfortunately I forgot my camera that night (that always happens) :(.

After a few days we traveled to Branson to spend 4 days relaxing and hanging out with my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins. It was hot so we spent alot of time by the pool. Wyatt and Kaylynn enjoyed themselves alot. Kaylynn was pretty fearless when it came to the water, she would just keep walking until she walked under the water. Wyatt had fun as there was a baby pool that was only 18 inches deep so he could run free and play the whole time. Lunches were easy the kids sat out on the deck and ate, made a bit of a mess but clean up was simple. It was great for mom. It was a great time hanging out with family and getting a few days to relax and enjoy the sun.

While we were in Branson Kaylynn got to meet her other Great Grandmother Laura and her Great Aunt. The kids were their energetic selves exploring everything at grandmas house and they especially loved all the beany bears she had, some were even bigger than them.  It was great to spend a few hours with my grandma and Aunt Jean.

While we were on the trip Wyatt started to sleep in a big boy bed as we did not have two pac n' plays. He did really well but did fall out of bed a few times but that never really scared him at all. It was a bit harder to get him to fall asleep but all in all he did great. And since he slept in a big boy bed on vacation when he got home he was moved into his big boy fire truck bed. He has done really great. We are able to put him to bed turn on his music and he lays down and goes to sleep. He has yet to figure out that he can climb out of bed and even when he wakes up in the morning he stands at the end of his bed looking over the engine part calling for Max and I. So far that is awesome until he figures out he can get out of bed.

While in Branson you have to go see a show so we took the kids on the Branson Belle which is a big riverboat with a show and dinner. I was a bit nervous because normally all it turns into for me is a night of stress and work. But it was pretty enjoyable. We had a section that was away from most people which helped and Wyatt loved the music (below is a video of him jamming to the music). He would just sit and watch the performers and Kaylynn she loved to climb the stairs that were next to us. So most of my night was chasing her up and down the stairs but I could see the show and it kept her entertained. All and all it was an enjoyable night.

Wyatt also enjoyed riding with Grandma Judy and one time he even tried to push her and got the wheelchair moving a little bit. He is a strong little thing.

Here are a few more photos from the trip.

11 Months Old

This is the latest I have been posting a monthly update. Sorry :( I was extremely busy with my masters quarter coming to an end and then I went on vacation for a week and now I am catching up on the blog. (writing from the perspective it was June 1st)

 Kaylynn is working hard on learning to walk she is standing up on her own and taking a few steps before falling on her bottom and she will be walking in no time. She has pretty much decided the she does not want to eat baby food anymore. She only wants to eat what we are eating, but with no teeth still i makes it a bit hard at times. She manages to gum most things up. She also has a stubborn side to her and does not want to use a sippy cup yet so we are going to have to work with her on that soon. 

I am so glad I only have one more month of taking her picture because each month it gets harder and harder! But she is pretty darn cute.

Michelle and I were trying to finish up a little homework so we had Wyatt and Kaylynn do "homework" by coloring on some papers. Wyatt liked it but unfortunately their attention span is not that long. Look at  Wyatt he has a pretty good scrap on his nose from pushing a truck around at school and running off the path which ended with him face planting due to the truck stopping in the dirt.

Here is a video of some of Kaylynn's first steps. She does this really cute thing by crawling up to you about 2 or 3 feet away and then standing up (which I love to watch her stand up) and then walking the rest of the way.

Here is a video of Wyatt saying names.

Memorial Day 2011

Memorial Day turned out awesome. I was a little worried that it would be rainy and cold but we had a beautiful weather. No rain and in the low to upper 70's. An awesome weekend. Max and I took the kids up on Thursday night and we spent a little time hanging out and then Christy, my mom, Tony, Chelsea, Brianna and Alex came up to spend a few days. Adam also joined us for a night. The kids loved playing outside and dancing to music in the garage. They were able to ride their trikes, go on wagon rides and push around the stroller til they were worn out. Wyatt loved watching the boats and driving the boat when he could.  Kaylynn learned to ride the trike (pushing with her feet) and was able to move in the forward and reverse direction. It is nice to be up at the lake were we can get away from most of our electronic things (unfortunately I had homework to do this weekend) and enjoy outside and family time.

We stayed until Monday mid afternoon and then had a bit of an adventure getting home with traffic but the kids did great. When we got home it was hot (low 90's) so we got the hose out and the kids played in it. Wyatt did not like getting wet but he loved holding the hose and make puddles in the yard, Kaylynn on the other hand loved the water.

We had some family photos taken and as you can imagine it is hard to get everyone looking at the camera but we are going to continue to try until we get it :). 

Wyatt wanted to play cards with us. Doesn't he look like he is trying cheat by looking at someones cards?

Big baby blues!! So sweet.

Max and I were able to take Neil and Gails kayaks out one morning and it was a nice relaxing adventure. We went out for about 45 minutes and enjoyed the smooth water, warm morning sun and some time together. When we go the Kayaks back Kaylynn and Wyatt had some fun sitting in the boats!

Here are a few more pictures from that weekend and please note the awesome card table we have made from tree stumps and Max's old mustang hood: