Spring Break '09

What a week... Saturday we had Sydney's Birthday party at Pump it Up. She asked for donations to the Town Lake Animal Shelter instead of presents for herself, and she got a LOT of great items to give. Thanks to everyone who supported the cause! On Sunday, her best friend came to spend the night. We went to Pappasito's for dinner and then to the movies. Monday morning, we went to the animal shelter to take the donations. We petted puppies, played with cats, looked at the rabbits and found out our animal shelter even has roosters.




I took the girls to lunch at Chuy's - one can rarely have too much Mexican food! After that, Bria went home and we went to celebrate Sydney's birthday with my Mom & brother. Tuesday, we had lunch with friends and then Jake went to spend the night with Max while Sydney swan all day in Shelby's heated pool. That night, Shelby came to spend the night. The next morning when Jake came home, we went to 1/2 price books and then picked up lunch and went to the park for a picnic. The kids spent Thursday with their Dad while I got in a workout and some 'real' work, plus lunch with my Mom and husband. Friday morning, we left for Houston with Kristi and her kids to visit Jill and hers. We had lunch at Jill's gorgeous new house and then spent the day at the zoo.

monkeys at the zoo :)

Martin drove down Friday night, and Saturday our family left for Kemah to visit friends, see their beautiful, open house with two big porches and a huge kitchen, meet their dogs, and go sailing with Terri (with whom I used to work at CSC) and Scott. That was a blast with everyone taking a turn at the helm and kids exploring every inch of their big, beautiful sailboat. We drove back home late Saturday night. Today, we took Abby & Spencer to the movies with us and then went to the evening service at church. Jake was a pain today. Some days he's just really grumpy and hard to be around and today was one of them, but mostly we had a great week. I am grateful to have a wonderful husband to share weeks like this with - by myself it was harder to do as much for and with the kids. I love to spend time with my family and friends and to see my kids enjoy time with theirs.

We are gearing up tonight for Martin to be gone this week - he's out of town for work from tomorrow morning until Thursday afternoon, which is also his birthday. We have another busy, fun weekend planned for next week, including a date night/birthday celebration on Friday night, quick trip to Dallas on Saturday for an 80th birthday party for a family member, Brownie event for Sydney on Saturday night and soccer game on Sunday. There really is never a dull moment around here, but I like it. It's not all over-scheduled and overwhelming; we leave plenty of time for friends and playing outside and family movie nights. Thankfully Martin has the energy to keep up and make it possible for our house to run smoothly. We are also blessed with the happiest baby in the whole wide world. She travels well, enjoys all of the activity and cries maybe once a day for a couple of minutes when she's tired - she's truly amazing!

Camping at Enchanted Rock

This past weekend Sydney and I had an opportunity to bond a little, which was really nice. We went camping with a bunch of other fathers and their daughters from our neighborhood as part of Adventure Guides.

There were 10 girls in all with 7 dads. We got there at around lunch time on Saturday (Syd and some of the other girls had a soccer game earlier that morning) had a quick bite to eat and headed up to the top of the rock for a little adventure on the trail. Sydney is often very competitive and this was one of those times. She was very eager to be the first one to the top. After about half way up I saw that she was definitely determined to get there ahead of the group. So with all the other girls very close behind she managed to find her way to the top ahead of us all. I think she was too tired to be excited and went for the water bottle and snack that we brought up before saying much else. And by that time all the other girls and dad's were there to take pictures and explore the caves that were near the peak.

After our spending a couple of hours exploring we were ready to make our way down the path. Syd again decided to be in the front bunch but decided to walk down with her friends instead of alone.



When there wasn't any hiking or eating going on, the girls spent most of their time down in the dry creek bed. Boys in the next camp spent a lot of time in the creek bed too. Needless to say there was a little conflict brewing. The girls practiced sword play with sticks they found just in case they wanted to battle. They also spent a lot of time telling us the boys wouldn't leave them alone even though they did their share of invading the other camp.

The one night we were there it was extremely windy. Shelby decided she wanted to be in our big ol' 50 person tent since there was so much room. When I put the tent up earlier that day there was virtually no wind so I only tied down what was absolutely necessary to keep the rain guard in place. Since the tent was so big it caught a lot of wind. The big walls acted like a sail and the tent was shaking pretty badly when a gust of wind came through. Shelby was having trouble sleeping and asked that I go out and check on the tent. I think it was a combination of the wind and other creepy sounds from outside. I went out and did find that my knot skills were not very good. I retied one of the ropes holding the tent in place and added some that I didn't tie down before. That helped but the tent shook all night.

Sydney slept right through it all. I stayed up with Shelby. She was a little scared but we talked our way through it.



The trip was a total blast and it was such a blessing to be able to spend that time with Sydney. On the way home we drove down highway 29 and saw a bald eagle nesting. It's quite a site. ...something I never thought I would see in person. They are incredible birds.

A Letter to the Kids' Teachers

Back to the Gym

Today was my first day back in the gym in a lloooooonnnnggggg time. I LOVE that my friend Kristi is willing to work out with me again. It made it easy to fall back into things, even when I didn't want to shove my big butt into workout clothes this morning. Unfortunately, it was legs today, which is not an ideal way to jump back in... but, oh well. I figured I'd write about it today instead of tomorrow when it takes all of my effort just to stand up out of bed. Martin is also starting to run again after taking time off for family and to heal a really badly sprained ankle from last fall that stayed swollen for months. We'll keep you posted on our progress.

So, who weighs 17 pounds, 6 ounces and is the cutest chunky monkey on the planet?? You guessed it! Kiley had her four month check-up yesterday. She got two shots and an oral, liquid vaccine and weighed in at a size that is, once again, off the charts. She has started really grabbing at things, working her arms, drooling like a fiend and taking a pacifier. She talks to us and laughs with (at?) us. She bounces up and down when we hold her upright and she rolls side to side. She has lots of dark hair and is kind of going bald in back the way babies do when they rub their hair off from turning their head, but she's got this comb-over thing going on so it's not horribly noticeable (although that's not a style I would typically recommend).

Jake had a big homework project due yesterday. He had to have a timeline for his life with a big event for each year - starting in '99 and ending in '09 - so 11 in all. I had to come up with pictures to correspond, and this is our '09 picture with the milestone being the start of guitar lessons. It took him about an hour to do the captions to describe each of the pictures or events and it took me about three hours to find and scan old photos, resize, print, etc. Also this weekend, we had a girl scout cookie booth on Saturday. It was cold and the little one was wrapped up like a burrito, but Sydney sold 41 boxes of cookies and surpassed her goal of 180 boxes. I was proud of her - I told her last week she was 27 boxes shy of her goal and if she wanted to hit it she would have to do a booth or really hit the phone & door-to-door sales. She wanted to go for it, which made it worth sitting in the cold for two hours. Thanks to all who bought cookies - and thank goodness the sale ends on Friday. That alone will do wonders for my weight watchers progress!!

Valentine's Weekend

We had a good weekend. On Saturday, Martin's brother came to stay with us before the marathon on Sunday. He got here in time to help get the house ready for the ten girls who would celebrate Valentine's day with us. I'm sure it was exactly the relaxing day he expected before the big race! The girls made heart shaped pizzas, decorated cupcakes, made Valentine cards, played lots of games, watched the Charlie Brown Valentine's special and ate popcorn. Mat helped throughout the party and was very popular with the girls. He seemed to enjoy himself - perhaps a bit too much with the crafts?? Seriously Mat, thanks for being here and helping out. The party was fun and it was LOUD!

Thank goodness Mom came to help as well. She just got back this week from a 3-week cruise in Australia and New Zealand so it was good to spend some time with her - we've been missing her lots! I think this was about the only time in four hours she sat down - and then she had a lap full of baby Kiley :).

Speaking of Kiley... this past Wednesday (the 11th), she rolled over for the first time. All the way over and pulled her bottom arm out and arched up. I got a picture before she got unhappy being on her tummy. In addition to rolling over, she is giggling (my favorite sound in the whole world right now), sucking on her fist, just starting to grab her toes, and playing with toys that she can pull, put in her mouth, etc.

And, on Sunday she went to her first marathon. I wonder if she'll be a runner like her Daddy. He wasn't planning to run at all, but he ended up meeting his Dad at mile 7 to support him and running with him to the finish line. There were four official runners in their gang this year - Matthew, Grandpa, Ryan (Jacqueline's husband) and Wendy, Ryan's sister who is training for the Iron Man in Idaho this summer with Ryan's help. Mat finished in 3:50 and Wendy & Ryan in about 4:15 - pretty incredible!!

Over 100 days, hitting the 450 mark, milestones

Kiley is just over 100 days old, I know it's hard to believe. Hard for me to believe. She is quite the special little girl and all of us are still enchanted with the little angel. When you see her smile and laugh you can't help but do it yourself. The mornings are typically extra special, so much so that I find it difficult to leave for work. She is laughing and giggling (that's something she's started recently and it's darling) and talking. She is never short on things to say. She'll be very much like her brother if she keeps it up. It's pretty cute. Sydney and Jake are still enchanted by her and often exchange words on who gets to hold her, when and for how long.

Today was the Pinewood Derby. Jake built a killer car. He called it the wedge and it was just that. He let me help him build it but it was completely his design. I am impressed that so many boys/dads participate in this annual event. When I was growing up the derby was something so far our of reach. I thought it only happened millions of miles away, we weren't quite as organized as the troop that Jake is part of. The track is amazing and I'm so happy to enjoy it with Jake. It's a three lane track with each car starting on an inclined plane. The troop and den leaders take the race very seriously and go out of their way to make sure every boy has a fair shot. It's a wonderful time of the year.

Jake's car is second in this heat

Sydney is selling girl scout cookies again this year. She's doing great and has a goal of 180 boxes. It's pretty ambitious but she is really trying to reach it. Courtney has been helping to encourage her and taking her and her friends into the neighborhood to have the best opportunity she can. My favorite are what were previously called the do see dos, they are the peanut butter sandwiches which by the way are perfectly safe. If you want to buy some please let me know. I want to do my part too. :)

Tomorrow is the 450th day of our marriage. I like to keep track of our days together because, my wife loves me for all my faults and supports me in all my dreams and crazy ideas about trying to be the best papa I can. She is an angel to our children and keeps the house functioning like an atomic clock. I honestly don't know how she keeps it all straight, just your typical, taking kids to tutoring, guitar lessons, organizing play dates, making dinner almost every night, remembering important dates, setting up photo shoots for our peanut, just overall managing to look after the whole family, and still have time for her own work and looking after our new little one. She's amazing. I can barely remember to get my oil changed. I love her.

Tonight we went to dinner at the first place where we professed our love to one another and decided to truly trust each other. It's one of our favorite spots. I love her very much.

Milestones:
Kiley is standing, with a little help from us, but only for balance. She is giggling, smiling, following us around the room with her eyes, responding to our voices, and gradually getting into a sleep and feeding rythym. She's quite a girl. :)

Blogworthy!

Katie, thanks for prompting me to keep blogging. I do enjoy this and like the history it is keeping of our family; it's just tough finding the time. Today I FINALLY got a great 'blogworthy' photo of Kiley's big grin. I was able to get the other kids' smiles on camera much earlier, but with the new technology, the 'red eye' pre-flash startles her and instead of getting the great grin I get the 'hey - why are you messing with my good mood' look instead! But, here it is at long last... You can also see that she has some curl in her hair.

January 28th, Kiley - 3 months & 1 week old

We've had a great couple of months. We enjoyed several holiday parties with friends, got to see both of our families at Christmas time and rang in the New Year - not with a bang but snuggled up in bed with our newest family member. We watched the ball drop on t.v. at midnight East Coast time and were ready to sleep by midnight - it was perfect!

A Christmas Nap

Kristi, me, Dawn & Shannon at our house

Kiley weighs about 16 pounds now. It doesn't mean anything to me anymore when people tell me how big their kids are because I can't remember what is 'normal', so here is a growth chart to put it in perspective. If you match her 16 pounds on the left with 3 months on bottom, you can see with the red 'X' that she falls well above the top curved line which indicates the 95th percentile. Statistically, she is off the charts in terms of weight and thankfully height as well. Jake was too for about the first 18 months and now he's a bean pole, but for now she's our little chunky monkey!

Jake has started guitar lessons. We wanted to buy a used 3/4 size classical guitar but couldn't find one, so we just bought him a really nice guitar and hope he'll stick with it. We think he's got a good instructor who is well-known around our neighborhood and comes highly recommended. I'll snap a picture soon of him practicing. It's time for soccer sign-ups again so Syd will be playing again with her team in March.

The kids got report cards yesterday and both did really well. In 3rd grade they go to numeric grading so Jake had all grades above 90. Sydney had only one area below expectations and a number of areas where she is at the level she needs to be for the end of the year, which is what you'd expect for a kiddo in special ed. Her tutoring is really paying off - she's been going two days a week for an hour each day of one-on-one help - and her reading is greatly improved! Jake is being re-tested for special education (they have to requalify every three years) and from what I hear so far I think he will no longer qualify. They've both come such an incredibly long way!

On the homefront - we got new carpet which is exciting and will be even better when we get all the furniture put back away where it belongs. For now things are kind of chaotic, but we're trying to weed out and put things back in new and fun (and orderly) ways!

We are selling girl scout cookies and just need to stop selling them to ourselves :). In spite of thin mints, I'm doing well on Weight Watchers and am down almost 40 pounds from my highest weight right before delivery. I'm getting some work time in, but either work slips or the house slips since the kiddos come first. In the back of my mind is the fact that I won't have another infant and I don't want to miss out on a single minute.

Kiley is getting a bit more predictable. She sleeps from about 10 p.m. usually to about 4 a.m., nurses, wakes up again when we all get up around 6:30 and nurses, then sometimes plays for a bit but falls back asleep until 9a.m. Then she's up for awhile and we usually have our bath and get dressed and run errands if we need to. She usually has a nap around noon and another longer nap later in the afternoon sometime, depending on what we've got going on that day. She's up at dinner time and takes one more nap before she falls asleep for the night.

Martin is amazing and continues to help with everything - housework, putting kids to bed, changing diapers, repairs around the house, replacing my laptop hard drive, etc. on top of his full-time job which has been busy and a little stressful lately because of some changes in regulations for his industry. He is managing to make some time for play... We're busy, but I like that and I'm especially grateful for it with this economy!

Martin in his office 'bunker' playing lazer guns with Jake