Photo shoot!

For church yesterday we went to the GBPAC in Cedar Falls. Our church does this once a year to try to get as many of our members/attenders in one location at the same time to worship together. With our church currently having six Sunday services along with two services on the Grundy Center campus there were a lot of attenders. I think they said around 1800. It was a very emotional and awesome service! After it was over we walked out to our car in such beautiful weather. I couldn't resist how adorable Kezzie looked in the morning sun! We had her stand by a tree and I got a bunch of shots of her posing. I am far from being a photographer but she still looks adorable!!

Football and Family!

Today Austin had his first football event. It was called a football jamboree and consisted of two scrimmages. He is #12! He was still feeling pretty sick from his cold so he didn't play very much but he did a great job when he did play. His team did very well too! Grandma and Grandpa Uglum came to watch the first game. Austin was feeling too weak and shaky to play his second game and instead headed off to spend the rest of the weekend with his dad. Mat and Steph were also in town along with Brady. I must say he is looking quite handsome with his new hair cut! We took Kezzie's shopping cart out to Grandma and Grandpa's house so Brady and Kezzie could take turns pushing things around in it. They played very well together! Kez also found a furry wolf in Grandpa's room and loved it! There's a photo of her snuggling with Grandpa and 'Rex' (that's what we named him) on the couch! So cute! She also really enjoyed hanging out with Mat on the bean bag and pushing buttons at the computer. And as always the piano was a big hit-playing it with daddy was a bonus!

Celebrating with the Uglums!

Wednesday we went and had pizza with Brian's parents. They just returned from Europe and hadn't had a chance to wish Austin a happy birthday so they suggested we get together. It also happened to be Riley's birthday! Austin received 20 Euros and some American money from Riley and Kathy along with some fun games they found in Germany. From great grandma Troyna he got some dominos. He was feeling very under the weather as he had a cold coming on and ate very little of one of his favorite foods, but we had a good evening. It was great to see grandma Troyna as she has been feeling sick lately. We are glad to say she has received another round of chemo. Has it really already been three weeks?! You can see in one of the pics that Kezzie is trying very hard to pop the bubbles on the bubble wrap. I was trying to teach her what to do! And Austin and Kez found the perfect nook to sit in. Kezzie liked it very much! I'm sure the restaurant was excited to see us leave! There is one home picture in there too. Austin ended up staying home from school the rest of the week and I snapped a picture of him playing with one of the german toys he got for his birthday. He has a nice stack of wooden rocks going!

21 Months!

Keziah was 21 months old yesterday! Oh how the months fly by! She will be turning 2 before we know it! Not much lifestyle wise has changed this month. She is pretty much on the same schedule. Wakes at 7:30 bed by 8. Naps from 1-3:30ish. Still doing great without her paci. However, she recently discovered her pointer finger and frequently sticks that in her mouth and sucks on it. She will pull it out and show it to me and tell me it is her paci. I have been taking it out and telling her she doesn't need a paci anymore but she insists on sucking it. It mostly happens when she is about to go to bed or down for a nap. She has also replaced the paci with a sippy cup and is very addicted to having that at nap and bed. She almost always drinks an entire cup full of water before falling asleep and has actually even puked/spit up all the water because her belly was too full. She's not much of a breakfast eater but she will always eat a little something. She is a really good lunch and supper eater though! Kezzie is getting really good at her speech. She says everything imaginable and has even started putting words together. It is so fun to hear her talk and sometimes we can have conversations with her using just one or two words for responses. She gets frustrated very little now because she can almost always find a way to tell me what she is thinking or needing. If she has an idea she will usually either tell me or pull my hand to come with her so she can show me (ie: Kezzie: mommy ball. Me: oh, you want me to play with the ball with you? Kezzie: yes). One of her favorite phrases is 'hereyago' (here ya go). It really sounds like all one word but she has heard it enough that she says it all the time and even uses it properly. One of Kezzie's favorite things to do is dance. I love this about her because she really gets me moving sometimes. She knows exactly which button to push on the stereo to turn it on and knows which one turns it up too. She claps, spins, jumps, and waddles to show her happiness. She even clicks her tongue or puts in a few hums here and there to go along with the music. It is adorable! Speaking of jumping...she actually gets some air now. She has been working really hard at that! Another fun game we play is we get on Brian and my bed and we pretend like we are going to sleep and she pretend snores. It's hilarious! Kezzie is also doing excellent with her colors. I have yet to catch them perfectly on camera but yesterday she brought a book to me with all sorts of colors in it in the shape of squares. She pointed to each color adding the word square on the end. There was red, pink, orange, yellow and green squares on the page. I was very impressed! Sometimes she gets confused but she always gets yellow right for some reason. It seems to be her favorite color in everything she does! Who knew a 1.5 year old could have a favorite color! She also has a preference in shoes. If she sees a pair in my hand that she doesn't want to wear she will promptly request "pink shoes". It's her hot pink crocs that rarely match anything. But I am sure they are incredibly comfortable! When cooler weather arrives I think we will have to make them vanish somehow! Keziah continues to do well with her numbers. She can tell me when she has a group of two or three of something and she will show it to me. She is also starting to say some letters. There is a bookshelf in the office with A, B, C and D on it and she will point to each one and tell me what they are. Again, she isn't always right but she is definitely interested and can often surprise me with her accuracy. One of Kezzie's newest things she says is 'syie' (sorry). She says it quite often. Sometimes it's when you aren't sure why and then you wonder what mischief she has been into. I think this has come about because we have started having her apologize when she intentionally hits another family member. A lot of times she will say it when she bumps into you or knocks something off the table. It's pretty sweet, but sometimes I wonder if she really means it!!

Yeast Update: We switched back to the original yeast medicine since that was at least keeping it under control and made an appointment with a dermatologist in Sept. It doesn't seem to want to fully disappear but it is back to being very minimal. Praise the Lord. I at least feel like I can take her in public again and not wonder if people think she is contagious. I just pray there is enough of it there when the dermatologist looks at it to be able to determine what to do next.

I enjoy everyday that I have with Keziah and don't take a minute for granted. I am so blessed to be home with her and watch her grow. It sometimes makes me sad that I am the only one that really gets to see on a daily basis how smart she is. I guess that's why they invented blogger, so I can just brag about her instead! And I definitely do enough of that!

All About the Big A!

We celebrated Austin's birthday this weekend. Although his actual birthday isn't until tomorrow he really wanted to celebrate the weekend before. It started out on Friday night. He had football practice from 3:30 until 5 and after that his friends came over. He actually had 3 friends over-Zach, Eric and Logan. After pizza and pop Brian and the boys all headed to the high school football scrimmage. Eric decided he wanted to go home with his sister from there so we were down one friend by the end of the night. Brian, Austin, Logan and Zach came back by 9 and that's when the fun began! We started hauling blankets and pillows out to the tent (with Brian at work, I managed to set that thing up ALL BY MYSELF!) along with our kitchen tv and playstation. They were really roughing it! With temperatures dipping into the high 40s I wasn't sure the boys would stay out all night but they did. After playing chase in the dark and probably irritating many neighbors we decided to strike up the fire. The boys wanted to make smoores, so we did! It was so much fun to sit around the fire in our own back yard. This was a first at our house! To surprise Austin, I bought some fire changing packets that make the fire change colors. They were pretty cool! When the fire went out I decided it was way past my bedtime and I told the boys to stay in the tent and stay quiet the remainder of the night. Brian checked on them again later and they were playing video games on the little tv they had hooked up! Saturday morning I went out to see how the boys were doing. All but one were sound asleep! After getting them all awake we went inside to eat cinnamon butter braid (Austin's request). The boys then decided they were going to the crick to fish. We planned to have lunch around noon. All per Austin's request, Brian grilled steak for all of us and I made cheesy hash browns, corn and fruit salad. We also had some cheesy puffcorn and cottage cheese. Logan got a call that he had to go home shortly after he was done eating so we were then down to one friend left. Before the boys got back to their fishing we wanted to do gifts and dessert. He got a Hawkeye football from Eric and money from Zach along with some pixie sticks. Austin didn't want a cake this year instead he wanted these scrumptious m&m bars. The boys went back to fishing for the rest of the afternoon. They never bring anything back except stories but this time Austin got smart and took his camera. Him and Zach each caught some nice sized bass. I think that was the most fun Austin had ever had there! I will try to get those photos off his camera and post them sometime soon. Sometime before supper we ran Zach home. Austin had a great time!

At Grandma and Grandpa Smith's we had a good time too. The whole family was there except for grandpa (he was on his way home from the river). Adam helped grill the hamburgers, brats and hot dogs. Mom put together a nice veggie tray. Brian and I brought the rest. Austin wanted cheesy hash browns again and snicker apple salad to go along with the oh so delicious dairy queen cake! After opening gifts and Austin receiving The Big Book of Boy Stuff we spent the rest of the afternoon trying out different experiments from in there. For example: how to build a homemade rocket using a match and tinfoil. Pretty cool stuff! I think I am going to have to keep a close watch on him with that book! Thanks Aunt Emi and Uncle Adam! Between the two birthdays Austin also received almost enough money to reach his goal so he can buy an electric scooter. Thanks everyone for celebrating with us and thinking of Austin on his big day!

Is it really possible that he is eleven? I am so proud of the young man he is growing up to be. He is caring and considerate. He is helpful and thoughtful. Not to mention my personal entertainer!! I am so thankful for the eleven years I have been blessed to have him in my life. I wouldn't change it for the world! I love you Austin!

Yeast update!

I have an update for Kezzie's rash on her face. I took her back to the doctor (a different doctor) and he also insists that it is yeast. He prescribed a different kind of yeast cream and said to give it 2 weeks and if it didn't work then he was just going to send us to a dermatologist. It has been two and a half days since I started applying it and it is the worst I have ever seen it. I am feeling really discouraged and worried. I pray that there is something out there that is going to work. It doesn't seem to bother her but it looks incredibly painful and very red. I feel so bad for her and am even a little embarrassed to take her in public. I wash all of her bedding and her favorite blanket in hot water about every other day. I make sure she always has a clean cup to drink out of and I make sure her face is always clean using a clean rag every time. I have been religiously putting her cream on her face three times a day and it just isn't going away. I don't know what else to do. Just say a prayer for her sweet little face as we try to get this figured out once and for all.

Football season upon us!

I normally don't care much about football but apparently when Austin is playing it, I get into it! He started practices earlier this week before school even started but it wasn't until today that he got his practice jersey and game jersey. Today is the first time he will practice with just his team and was the first time he needed to be fully dressed. I snapped a quick photo of him in the middle of frustration from trying to get it all put on correctly. He looks so grown up :( My little football player. His team consists of several 6th graders and a few of his really good friends from 5th grade too. Brian is helping coach again with one of the nicest guys I know, Perry Laures. They have coached together before and work really well as a team. It should be a good year as long as the time commitment doesn't interfere with school...we will just have to see. It's going to be hectic around here! Home from school at 3:45-eat snack. Do homework. Eat supper by 5 so he doesn't puke at practice. Leave for practice by 5:45. Home from practice by 8:30. Shower. Bed by 9pm. Do this four days a week and have games every Sunday. WOW! It's fifth grade for crying out loud!

Happy Anniversary!

It is mine and Brian's 4th anniversary today. Four years ago today it was not a rainy, gloomy day like it is today, it was a beautiful almost hot day. Perfect if you ask me. Especially since I was marrying the man of my dreams! Four years ago I was still living with my parents and Brian was soon to join us. Four years ago we didn't know what kind of jobs we were going to have or where our life was headed. Today we celebrate how far we have come. The business we own, the kids we are raising, and everything our life means as a couple. We are celebrating us and our relationship. However, it is because of life that we actually celebrated yesterday. Austin is full blown into football season now and has practice four days/week with Wednesday being his day off so we decided to (for the very first time) hire a babysitter and eat out at a restaurant we had never been. I was in charge of finding the sitter (huge challenge since we have lived here over two years and never have I attempted to find one) and Brian was in charge of filling the three hours I told the sitter we were going to need her. We headed to a nearby town called St. Lucas (sounds fancier than it is) and ate at a nice place. It was a good time for us to relax and enjoy each other's company! I hope this is the start of many baby sitter evenings. The kids loved her so I guess we will be having her back someday hopefully soon! Happy Anniversary Brian. I love you with all my heart!

1st Day of School

Austin started school today. He was very nervous and not looking forward to it at all. I don't think he hardly slept at all last night and he was up at 6:15am this morning. It is a change from elementary to middle school but he gets to stay in the same school. He was really nervous about changing classes so much (he has 8 different periods). I wasn't able to take him to class this morning and stay for the fifth grade orientation because I had a baby appointment in Waterloo, so Brian took him. When Austin got home from school today I could tell he was so much more relaxed. He had a smirk on his face and stated, "it wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be!" That was music to my ears! He is loving that he has different friends in each class and has already figured out where to go and when he needs to go there. He is going to do great this year, I just know it!

Note: this photo was actually taken on his

sixth day of school and when I went to take it Kezzie put on her little bear back pack (it was mine when I started kindergarten) and pretended like she was going to 'cool' (school) too! I had to take a picture of her on her first day of pretend school (must be pajama day at her school)!

24 weeks prego!

Yesterday I was 24 weeks pregnant. Sometimes I lose track but the doctor visits help me remember. I had one of those today! The doc actually said my stomach is measuring 25 weeks...I guess that means the baby is growing! The heart rate was 146 when she was finally able to find it...don't know why it was so hard! Just Kez and I went this time. She sat up on the table with me like usual and kept telling the doctor that was her sister as she pointed to my stomach! She has no idea yet what that is going to mean for her! The nurses always get a kick out of Kezzie and how well she can talk. She got some free stickers out of the deal this time! I get to go back in another four weeks and drink the sugary drink! The baby is definitely active and it is visible even through all my flubber! My back seems to be having more good days but I can tell it is about due for another chiropractor visit. Oh the pains of carrying a baby!!

My Two Youngest Nephews!

My side of the family finally had a Sunday where we were all together again. Summer has been really busy so it has been rare to see each other. While we are blessed to be close enough to each other to have this opportunity, it just hasn't worked out for several weeks. What a great time we had together! Here are a couple pics of my youngest nephews, Bennett and Rylan! Bennett is getting so big and doing such a great job with his skills. He is starting to walk if he is holding your hands and will cruise around a table by himself. He loves trying to put lids on and putting things inside containers. When he concentrates or is nervous he tends to suck on his upper lip! Here is a picture of Austin and Bennett playing with Austin's Flart (don't ask, it's some gross slimy stuff)! Rylan is getting bigger and soon approaching his one month mark...it's so hard to believe!

Ear Plugs!

Kezzie plays on our bed daily and happened to find my ear plugs on my night stand. I showed her what to do with them knowing she could never get them in far enough to do damage let alone barely stay in. She walked around with them in her ears for quite a while today. If one fell out she would get really irritated and bring it to me to put back in. She is quite the goof-ball. Notice the rash still on her face. I posted on her 20 month post that we thought the rash was gone for good but apparently even with medicine put on daily it is getting worse. I guess another trip to the doctor is in order :(

Round Two...

Brian had an unplanned second round of surgery on his shoulder yesterday. He first had a scope done April 16, 2009 where they found some tendons torn and repaired them through the scope. Several weeks later and after many sessions of physical therapy he was feeling virtually pain free and actually back to golfing a little. One night while watching TV he reached across his body to grab the remote with his left hand and his shoulder popped out again. How discouraging. So yesterday they decided to go in and open it completely up. They found a couple more tears but think this will definitely fix the problem this time. We just pray it does and that he will heal quickly and be back to his old self before we know it! He did say this time he has a lot more pain but I think that is mostly due to the 4.5" incision. If we can just get through the first 48 hours, the doc said the pain will decrease dramatically. Cross our fingers and pray he can get some sleep!

Summer's End

I think a good sign that summer is coming to an end is the public pool closes. Today was our last time going before it closes this weekend. Since we are a small town we have trouble having enough staff with students going away to college so our pool closes well before labor day. Kinda stinks! It's been a really fun summer at the pool. Kezzie is a fish and has grown a lot in swimming this year. Hopefully we don't have to start all over again next year. Austin will miss it too. He has spent many of his summer days hanging out here with friends (eating candy)!

The first cut!

Kezzie got her first hair cut today. I had appointments set up for me, Austin and Kezzie. We had Kezzie go last so she could watch me and Austin get snipped first. She has had problems watching Austin get his hair cut off before so I wasn't sure how it was going to go. She climbed right up in the chair and it turned out one of her favorite things in life was plastered all over her cape! I didn't have our hairdresser cut very much off but the ends were looking a little dry. You really can't tell much even happened but I think it looks a little healthier anyway and it was good practice since she probably won't have a hair cut of significance until she is in first grade at the rate her hair is growing!! I can't imagine how she would react if that were her first hair cut!

Cute Kezzie pics!

I had to post these two pictures because I think they are so cute. I am big on pictures if you can't tell! This first one is of Kezzie at my parents' house and she loves this horse. This was a horse that my sisters and I had when we were growing up. The thing still even 'neighs'! Kezzie is so coordinated on it she even gets up and down by herself. A little freaky to watch but she manages! I would imagine all the grand kids are going to be liking this for years to come!
This next one is of Brian's mom and Kezzie. I don't have very many of them together and I thought this was a cute one. She is sitting and listening so nice to grandma reading her a book!

Ethan turns 3!!

Ethan turned three on 8-7-09 but we celebrated his birthday today. I cannot believe he is already three! Time is flying by! He is such a brilliant little boy, so shy and timid. I love his personality! At his party there was a truck theme. Emily put his mud pie dessert in the back of his big dump truck with gummy worms sticking out of it. We had a very delicious dinner of meatballs and cheesy hash browns along with a few other tasty sides. There was a stubborn pinata that even Kezzie took a crack at trying to break open. I think Austin got the first piece of candy to fall with his mighty swing! Ethan got some great gifts. We got him a fishing pole and chalkboard book. Austin went through his millions of cars and took out a gallon sized bag full of cars to give Ethan for his birthday. Ethan's eyes lit up when he saw them and I think as soon as he was done opening gifts he went in the kitchen and dumped them all out to play. It was a really great time and fun to see Adam's family members again too. I even got to hold baby Rylan for a good portion of the time we were there! Happy Birthday Ethan! I love you buddy!

Fun in the Sun!

Today was a beautiful day...the perfect kind of day for playing outside! Kezzie thought so too! She loves our swing set so much even as much as we play on it. It never seems to get old! She is such a pretty little girl. I love how long her eyelashes are! Notice her holding a wet wipe? She is still obsessed and while I know I am bigger then her and I am indeed the boss, taking a wet wipe away from her after she has gotten a hold of it is not one of the battles that I feel necessary to pick with her! So outside it comes with us and she holds onto it no matter what she is doing-even if it is swinging! And on the slide Kezzie is getting pretty daring. Although she hasn't actually done it yet, she gets to the top and says 'belly' and pretends like she is going to go down on her belly. I think one of these days she is going to go for it. She does the same thing on the stairs inside. I think that might be a little more dangerous since they are carpet and she probably isn't going to slide down as easily! Lastly, you will notice in one of the photos below we have discovered a groove in the side of our slide that can easily slide a golf ball or race car down it. We have a lot of fun with this every time we are outside! Praise the Lord for days that we can get outside and enjoy God's beauty!

Day Trip to the River!

Today the kids and I took a little trip to the river. Dad is on vacation all week and spending it in Prairie Du Chien so we decided to go visit him for a day. We woke up and got started on the road. Even making the drive was exciting because just yesterday we picked up our new van. It's a Chrysler Town and Country-fully loaded! We traded in the good 'ol blazer for it! (Maybe someday I will get a picture of it). So the kids were excited to watch a movie on our 1.5 hour trek! When we got there dad was sitting in his lawn chair admiring the river. I joined him and before I could look up Austin had his fishing pole in the water! Kezzie found a worm in a bucket that Austin had been breaking pieces off of and it was her friend for the remainder of the day. She was giving it kisses (mostly just sticking her head in the bucket and giving it 'air' kisses but I did catch her actually making contact with her lips a couple times-YUCK!) and hugs and carried it everywhere she went! After eating a nice lunch Kezzie laid down for a nap and Austin and dad went out in the boat fishing. I laid down and started a new book and eventually fell asleep myself. It was so relaxing and peaceful with the windows open and the breeze coming in! Such a beautiful day-mid 70's! Just as dad and Austin were getting back from fishing (after not having much luck with the water down) Keziah was waking from her nap. We then decided to go out on a boat ride. Kezzie found a lot of fun squishy fishing things in the boat to play with and dad drove us up next to some ducks and other birds for Kezzie to see. She LOVED it! She loves the water and really likes helping papa drive the boat! After getting back from our scenic ride we started super. Dad made tacos for us all. They were delicious! Although we were the only four up there that day we still had a blast. It was really nice to see dad and spend the day with just him for a change. Kezzie stayed awake the whole ride home and after a MUCH needed bath, is finally in bed at 9:30pm.

Brian's grandma Troyna!

Please keep Brian's grandma in your prayers. She has been fighting a long battle of cancer and has recently started having hospice come into her home. Just pray for comfort for her family and strength and courage. Pray that she will continue to have minimal pain and that she will keep getting good rest.
I have to mention that every time we tell Keziah we are going to visit Great Grandma Troyna she automatically mentions 'duck'...let me explain! It started around Easter time when we visited her and she had a ceramic duck sitting out for decoration. If you know Kezzie you know that she ADORES anything with a beak, especially ducks. And this particular duck was pretty cool to her since we let her get close to it and touch it. Now every time we are going to see her she remembers the duck and looks in the very spot it was sitting to see if it is there. It has since been moved to a much higher location so we can't touch it but we can still see it! Not long ago grandma went on a trip to Missouri and she brought back Kezzie her very own duck. I think this only solidified her correlation between great grandma Troyna and ducks! It is amazing what kids can remember!
Here is our most recent pic of us visiting her while Mat and Steph were home yesterday. Of course it is always a challenge to get kids to cooperate so this is the best we could do...still a pretty good picture!
Later in the day, while playing over at Brian's parents, we got a couple shots of the kids when they were happy! Lately Kezzie has been sporting what we call 'her mad face' (as mentioned in her 20 month post). Here it is caught on camera. She will promptly show it off if someone requests. That is if she can keep a straight face!! She is barely managing to keep from smiling but you get the idea with the cruel eyebrows! I'm not sure what Brady is doing...it looks like he is creating his own break dance!