Sturgis Falls Celebration!

Sturgis Falls is usually a pretty fun time to do some stuff outside as a family. That's why we decided to get up early on Saturday morning and get packed to head to Cedar Falls for the rest of the weekend. The Sturgis Falls parade was to start at 10 so we planned to make it in time for that. My sister, Emily and one of her boys, Ethan sat on Main street and saved seats for us all. When we got there the heat seemed tolerable but the longer we sat there the more we realized how miserable we were. The temp was reaching between 95 and 100 and with barely any wind and the sun shining directly on us, I thought I was going to melt away! Not to mention the fact that Kezzie had been battling diarrhea and a fever the 3 days prior to this. I was so worried about her getting dehydrated and then worried that she was going to pee her pants from all the water I was making her drink that I don't think I enjoyed a minute of the parade! We took breaks every so often and went inside a nearby air conditioned restaurant but that only seemed to make the heat feel worse. We eventually decided to leave the parade early and head home to mom and dad's where the air was on and Kezzie could eat lunch and nap. The walk to the car was no small feat though either. Between me, Austin and Brian we all took turns pushing Kezzie in the stroller up and down the hills of Cedar Falls! My 10 year high school reunion was to take place in a half hour so the realization that I was going to miss that made me feel even more bummed. The day was not turning out so well! After Kezzie got a good nap in, we were feeling a little more hopeful and ready to tackle the hot weather again so we (Brian, Austin, Kez and myself) decided to venture out and walk around a little and maybe even let the kids ride a couple rides (never mind that, they were outrageous)! We settled for a funnel cake and thought it would be more worth our money to go eat at Old Chicago! Feeling very full and tired from the sun we headed back to mom and dad's to relax for the rest of the weekend. Church in the morning and then home to start another week!

16 weeks and Doc Visit #2!

I had my 16 week check up today...everything is going very well. Baby's heart rate was at 160 and they found it without any problems this time. The doc asked if I have been feeling the baby move and I told her I have for a while now-probably about 3-4 weeks. She was surprised but I unmistakably have felt it! She asked if maybe I was further along then I think...I guess we will find out when we have an ultrasound in 4 weeks. We will also be able to find out what we are having. Brian wants to know and I don't. He said I didn't have to find out but that he was still going to...how stupid would that be? So I guess he wins again! We're finding out! Here's the belly at 16 weeks which was actually this last Tuesday...

We'll Miss You Michael!

One of Austin's good friends is moving away due to his dad having a job change. We will miss Michael dearly along with his family. Michael and Austin have been friends since we moved here and enjoy doing many things together. They especially love swimming at the pool together and playing games on the play station in our basement. When we moved here in 2007 we bought our house from Michael's family and we thank them so much for it! We wish you guys luck and hope you will come and visit us soon!

Kezzie's 19 months old!

I can't hardly believe that another month has passed since I was last telling about my little girl. She has started doing so many new things this month too! Austin was gone a little less then a week and he even said she learned a lot since he had been gone!

It is getting harder and harder to take these monthly pics. As you can tell in this picture she is sticking that little lip out and crying with her hands over her eyes hiding! I just have to catch her at the right time and this evidently wasn't the right time!

She continues to do wonderful on the potty. We pretty much take her everywhere in panties now and she is telling me when she has to go every time, even when she has to go frequently from drinking too many liquids at once! We haven't had an accident in a while (knock on wood) and still haven't had any 'out and about' accidents. Although I continue to haul around several outfits as if she is just going to all of the sudden have several accidents in one outing! I guess you can never be too prepared! At nap she is staying dry but I haven't braved going without the pull up yet. And at bed time she is still wetting her diaper. Sometimes very little, leading me to believe she will be holding it through the night in no time as well.

Just in the last couple of weeks Kezzie has started putting two words together. This isn't an all the time kind of thing but she has done it a couple times and it is so adorable. She says "mom please" so sweetly! A few of her favorite expressions to use are: Oh Boy, Oh My, Oh No, OK and she says them with such enthusiasm. Within the last week a favorite game of Kezzie's is plugging her ears to hear what different volumes she can make. I will catch her in the back seat of the car testing this out. She will do it for long periods of time too and will laugh about it when she sticks her fingers in and out! Kezzie has also started answering yes or no to questions and does it accurately. Usually if she says yes to something she really means it but sometimes when I ask her if she needs to go potty she will tell me no because she doesn't want to go! Pretty typical, right?! Kezzie has also started to try counting. She can't say the numbers well enough to understand them but she will lay items out and make noises as if she is numbering them off. Also she has been trying to learn how to jump. It is pretty comical to watch because her feet never leave the floor but she is proud no matter what! And lastly, sometime in the last month Kezzie has once again changed her schedule. I can't really put my finger on when she changed it, but I think it was very close to when Austin was done with school! I wonder if that has anything to do with it?!! Kezzie no longer takes a morning nap and instead will eat lunch between 11 and 12 and nap by 12:30/1. She will nap until about 2:30 or 3 depending on what time she woke up in the morning (which lately has been as late as 7:30/8:30)! She still goes to bed by 7:30!

Wow how time is flying by. Kezzie is so much fun to be around and brings life to my every day boringness! She makes me smile all the time with the way she is so carefree, dancing to music and tapping her feet even when there isn't a beat to follow! Here she is being the girl she was created to be...putting on her fake lipstick and combing her beautiful hair in pigtails! God has truly blessed my family with her!

A new look!

6/20 So while Brian was away a good friend of mine came to visit (see previous post). While sitting in the living room (on the day Brian was to come back), we were watching the home improvement channel and I stated that I wish I had a project to do around the house but that I never seem to have the proper supplies to accomplish the home improvements I want to do. Angela so nicely and jokingly stated "well, I'm pretty tired of looking at these white walls!" I was so happy she said something because I knew she was really good at decorating and I had meant to talk to her about what colors she would suggest throughout the house. We have lived here for over 2 years and had hardly painted anything because I have been too afraid. After taking a walk to the local hardware store and grabbing a hand full of paint swatches, we proceeded to pick paint colors for both the living room and kitchen. Brian arrived home that afternoon and with a plan for convincing him of our ideas, we approached him with the subject and he approved!!! After Kezzie went to bed that night it was go time and we didn't stop until almost 3am. We just had to finish. Angela was set to leave the next morning and she really wanted to be able to see her hard work pay off. The finished product was beautiful!

6/23 Now to paint the kitchen...this was something I had to do on my own. It took me two days to complete but it is now finished also! Kezzie was very patient with me and has probably seen more Elmo then I would like to admit! She really enjoyed climbing the ladder and 'helping' paint with a clean paintbrush. I mostly worked on it while she was napping and in bed though! I love it! And I got to surprise Austin too...after going to the river with my mom and dad he then went home to Cedar Falls with them where his dad picked him up on Sunday and kept him until today 6/24. He got home at 2:30 pm just before I was able to finish painting! He right away said how much more cozy and warm the house felt now that it was painted. I think he is right!

(the red is just on the one wall with the cupboards and appliances and the rest of the kitchen is in the cashew color)

Daddy's Away...

6/17 Brian left for a business trip with his dad this morning :( We will miss him very much but thankfully I have some fun things planned for us while he is away. Tonight the fun is just for me...Grandma Uglum is coming to watch the kids while I take a trek to Waterloo to meet up with my sis Emily to have dinner and go to a movie. We ate at Applebee's and then headed to target to stock up on some movie candy. We then headed over to the theater to catch a 7:30 movie-The Hangover. What a hilarious movie by the way!! Aside from Kathy needing to take Kezzie out of bed to go downstairs due to a tornado in Charles City, the night was pretty awesome. A great way to relax and refresh!

6/18 Mom and dad arrived about 8 pm. They were coming to stay with me so that the next morning they could head on to the river and take Austin with them. It was really nice to have them here. Austin couldn't be happier that he was finally going to get to do some fishing!

6/19 Mom and dad left at about 8:30am and took Austin with them :( About 2pm my best friend growing up came to stay with me. I thought she was coming just over night but she ended up staying until Sunday. It was such a treat to have her here. It's been over a year since I last saw her and we had a lot to catch up on. We went on a walk with Kezzie stopping at some shops along the way, went out to eat, watched a movie, and painted my entire living room (see a later post). Without her help, it never would have gotten done!

6/20 Brian came home around 2:15pm...I couldn't be happier to see him (I think Kezzie felt the same way)!!

6/21 It was so nice to have Brian home for Father's Day and aside from visiting his parents (and his sister and brother in law were home with their son Brady), we didn't do anything but relax!

Here is Kezzie and Brady playing in their favorite cupboard at Grandma and Grandpa Uglum's house!

Snug as a Bug with Daddy!

Kezzie's blankets need washed every once in a while (duh!) so I usually have to sneak them away from her to do this. I learned quick that this was necessary because one day I thought it would be fun for her to see her blankets get a 'bath'...it was actually pretty horrifying for her and she ended up winning for them the whole time they were washing and drying. So now I surprise her and let her go pull them out of the dryer when they are all done. Today Brian left for a business trip and right before he left she got her warm blankets out of the dryer. You would never catch her in arms cuddling like this but she absolutely loved the warmth and I had to take a picture since daddy will be gone for a few days! She looks like a little baby!

Heartland Days!

This weekend was Heartland Days in New Hampton. There were different activities throughout the weekend that we could participate in if we wanted to. We didn't do much but got to be a part of it a little. Friday night Austin had a friend stay the night and the parade was going nearby our house so the five of us walked to an area where the parade would pass. It happened to work out that we sat out front of Brian's office so if Kezzie needed to use the potty we would be near one (she ended up being too distracted and having an accident anyway-at least I had somewhere to change her!) We had a really good time and somehow managed to escape the downpour that was expected to hit right at the start of the parade-funny how God works out the little things! It started raining pretty hard as we were ready to head home (luckily, Brian had walked back home after we got our chairs set up and got the car so we weren't stuck walking home in the rain)! After the parade we went out to eat (along with everyone else that went to the parade). The whole night was a really good time. There were some cute floats and Kezzie really loved seeing all the different people/clowns/horses/vehicles that passed by. She especially enjoyed getting nibbles of mommy's candy that was thrown to her! We enjoyed our late dinner and then headed home to get Kezzie to bed! She was exhausted! The boys had a blast and each got their baggies half full of candy!

On Saturday we decided to stay clear of the beer stands and music. We instead opted to just play at the park (they were in the same area). I think the kids had more fun there anyway! We saw some friends as we were walking back to the car and stopped to talk to them. Their daughter, Stella, is very close in age to Keziah and we actually have a picture of Kezzie and Stella together from the last time they saw each other. Kezzie loves looking at pictures on my camera so when she saw Stella she knew her by name even though its been a long time since they've seen each other! It was pretty cute to get them together again and see how similar and different they are! Saturday night we originally planned on going to the fireworks but failed to really think it through and later realized there was no way Kezzie was going to make it until 10 pm to actually see them. We got to hear them from a distance though inside our living room...I guess that will have to do for now!

What's Austin up to?

This week is Austin's full week out of school. He is loving the freedom and I have to say it isn't nearly as bad having him home as I thought it would be! I didn't think it would be bad necessarily to actually have him home...I thought it would be hard to keep a balance between 'work' and play for him. It hasn't been hard at all. He does what he is asked with very little complaint and in turn he gets to do the things he wants to do. I have had to let go a little about keeping him under my eye at all times, but at almost 11 years old I think he was ready for it! His favorite routine for the day is: up by 9 (I don't let him sleep any later-I send Kezzie upstairs to wake him up!-is that mean?), eat breakfast while he watches a little TV, get swim trunks on and call a nearby friend (he has about 4 friends available to him), together they head to a creek up the street a ways (he isn't ever allowed to go alone and the deepest point in the creek is about 2-3 feet), at the creek they spend their time catching tadpoles and frogs along with minnows (Austin's tank is up to 6 tadpoles-that's the max I am allowing and that's only because after the initial two he brought home he next came home with four more-sly booger), after the creek he usually comes home to eat lunch (that's when I hit him with things I want done!), then he is off to the pool where he spends the afternoon with friends usually from about 1:30-4/5 (the pool closes at 5 so he has to come home by then!). It's really nice to get a rainy day because then I actually get to spend some time with him! These aren't the only things he is staying busy with though. Right away this week he has started his trumpet lessons and golf lessons and he continues to stay busy with baseball as well. Trumpet lessons started on Monday morning and will go just to the end of June. He will start band in 5th grade so to give him a head start his band instructor is offering band lessons at no charge. I must say I am really impressed with how well he has caught on to the notes and tones of music. He must be a natural! In the beginning this was a forced thing meaning I was making him participate but after each lesson he has been to the comments keep getting better from him ("this is way funner then I thought it would be!" and "I never thought I would do this good!") At his second lesson he actually got to play along with a gal coming in for her lesson on the drums. The teacher played the piano, Austin on the trumpet and this girl on the drums. It sounded great! I think it made him feel like he was making music and he liked it! On Thursday Austin started golf lessons (see photo of his group). This is also a free service offered at the NH country club. He has only had one lesson so far and doesn't know anybody yet so he felt like it was boring his first time going. Hopefully this will get better as the season goes on. He does love to golf but basically just likes to get on the course and give it his best. I think it will be good for him to get some instruction from somebody other then Brian! Baseball is almost over. He has two games left. Currently his team is undefeated! Way to go Austin!

Videos!

Four new videos have been added at the bottom of this page...check it out!

Recker Shower!

Jamie's baby shower was yesterday. We had a great time! There was a pretty good turn out of people but still so much food! We did an afternoon shower with appetizers and cake. Fruit pizza, chicken cracker dip, puppy chow and pickle/ham wraps were to name a few! The cake turned out really well. We took an invitation into target and they created it based off that! I am including a copy of the invite because I have to show off my work every once in a while and they are just too cute. I looked at Jamie's comforter she has picked out for the baby and redrew some of the characters on the computer. It's hard to come up with a theme of colors when you don't know the sex of the baby so Emily and I thought it would be safe to use the bedding Jamie picked as the theme for the shower! It all looked great! We played three games. First of all we passed around some string and every one cut off a piece that they thought might fit around Jamie's belly. The second game we did was a candy bar game. Emily went out and bought about every candy bar/candy you can think of and for each candy you got a clue (ie. Grandparents would match up with lifesavers, umbilical cord would match up with twizzlers, breastfeeding would match with milky way, etc.). I thought that game was so cute! We also played a game of memory where we placed several items on a try that Jamie would need (clippers, nasal aspirator, bib, etc.) and people would get a few seconds to look at the tray and then write down as many of the items as they could remember. The games were fun and then we were on to gifts. Jamie got a nice variety of things she still needed. Casey made an awesome scrap book baby book, she also received a baby bath and many other supplies. Not knowing what the sex of the baby was kept people from buying clothes so that was a good thing...Jamie didn't want a bunch of green and yellow outfits!! I think the shower was a success! Congratulations Jamie and Keith...we can't wait to meet the newest addition to our family!

Waverly Pool

Jamie had the day off Friday so we decided we would try to skip Kezzie's nap and head to the pool for the afternoon. This is only a day after venturing to the New Hampton pool so a lot of water in one area was still fresh in her mind! She did really well! She was ready to swim from the get go! I was even able to get a life jacket on her and take her in the big pool area so we could swim with Austin. She did not mind her jacket at all and kept pushing me away to let her go! What a little fish! After only an hour and a half though she was more then ready to rest her head. She does not do well without sleep so we headed home to put her down for a nap! It was fun while it lasted at least!

I need to also make note for my own reference that as of 1/1/09 Kezzie is no longer taking a morning nap. Every time I try to give her one (because she is showing signs of really needing one) I lay her down and she falls right to sleep. I still wake her up an hour later thinking this will allow her to nap in the afternoon only to find that when I lay her down in the afternoon she will not fall asleep. This routine has happened twice and it is two times too many! So I am no longer laying her down in the morning. Her new routine is: lunch at 11/11:30 and nap at 12:30/1. She still only naps 1.5-2 hours but at least she is rested for the evening! Isn't it great when they start changing things up?!

Summer Time Summer Time Sum-Sum-Summer Time!

I love that it is getting nice out and we can finally spend some time in the pool. Austin finished school June 2 and has a pool membership. Kezzie is free so I just pay for myself to go...I think this will end up cheaper then a family pass (since Brian doesn't swim)...I hope! So far we've been there once. It's hard since Kezzie naps at 1:30 and that's when the pool opens. By the time she gets up we can go for maybe an hour before we have to come home to make supper. I keep telling myself this is just temporary...that is until another baby comes along! Someday maybe we can all enjoy the pool together at the same time! Until then Austin has been riding his bike there to meet friends. This is the first year I have been comfortable with him doing that. It's a struggle for me to let him walk out the door every time but I can't make him sit home either! Plus, he has a blast going. In these pictures you can see what a great big brother he is. He loves spending time with Keziah now that she is older and more fun to entertain. This being her first time in the pool this year she was really scared. We walked out of the locker rooms and her whole body started shaking. She was shouting 'ater' (water) over and over as if she didn't like the fact there was so much of it in one area! After a half hour of calming her down I managed to get her to go in the baby pool. From that point on she was having a blast. She would get in and out and get back in over and over! Before we knew it we had to go home! That was the tricky part...getting her to leave! We'll be back though! When we can't make it to the pool her little inflatable pool does just fine. She seems to have just as much fun playing in this as at the big pool! Hey, whatever gets us outside!

Potty Update!

Not much has changed, Kezzie continues to do very well on the potty and has even started to tell me when she needs to go (although she calls #1 and #2 both poop so you never know what's going to come out!). This morning she had her first accident in several days. I don't really know what happened and I don't even think she realized it...I hope we aren't starting another trend! We have even started leaving the house in panties this week. Sunday morning she was in a pull up in church but the nursery staff was more than willing to take her to the potty. She wouldn't go for them but she also didn't go in her pull up either. We went and visited Grandma and Grandpa Uglum that evening and she wore panties and kept them dry the whole time. Since then we have gone to get groceries wearing panties and even went to Austin's baseball game last night wearing them! She has yet to have an accident in them. When we are home she continues to be bare bottomed as that is the way the method works. It is easier for her to sit herself on the potty without having to pull anything down. That will come later! For now I either take her, she will take herself to her little potty, or she will tell me. That is tremendous progress from two and a half weeks ago!! I knew she could do it! I think once the last two pull ups run out we are done using them as a crutch and we will be full fledged panties! *Side note* Kezzie is still in a diaper/pull up for nap and night. She stays dry during her naps but soaks a diaper at night time. Eventually I will get brave and put her in panties even during her naps! Let's not rush things!

Baseball!

Austin had a make-up game last night that was here in town so Kezzie and I got to go and watch for the first game. They always play double headers so we couldn't stay the whole time but we got to see them win one (they won both games-go team!)! Austin did a great job! Kezzie enjoyed clapping when everybody else clapped and loved yelling her brother's name and embarrassing him. The kids on Austin's team adore her and she loves all of them since they all remind her of her brother! She also enjoyed seeing daddy coach! With potty training we haven't been outside much so she really enjoyed running through the grass barefoot and getting wild. She just had a blast. When we got home she crashed and slept through until 7:45 this morning!

13 week tummy!

Here is the baby at 13 weeks! I can't believe how much bigger I feel then this picture reveals! And the ligaments are so tender that I can hardly be comfortable in anything but my jammies! Soon enough I will be able to wear maternity clothes and I should be a lot more comfortable then!

Nathaniel's Graduation Open House!

Yesterday we drove to Denver for my cousin's high school graduation. Nathaniel is the youngest of my cousins on my mom's side so it was neat to celebrate with him. Somehow I managed to escape the party without a single picture of him so that's a bummer but I did happen to get plenty of photos of my cousin's daughter, Aspen (who is about 3 weeks younger then Kezzie) with Kezzie playing so well in the kid's area! They are quite the pair! I think they would have a blast hanging out together!

Cute pics!

Here is mom and dad after dinner on Sunday. We just thought we would snap a random photo of the grandparents and all their current grandchildren (minus Gavin). We have so much fun on Sunday afternoons and appreciate so much that mom and dad cook for us all after church every Sunday! We are up to a total of 12 (15 if you count Casey, Nate and Gavin) with two more on the way. Who knows where the number will stop!
Here is Kezzie in her cool dude sunglasses. She requests them often. If the sun comes across her face she immediately says "eyes" with a whine in her voice. She never seems to want to leave her sunglasses on though!