Grandma GG's

A while back Casey's grandmother passed away (lovingly known as "GG" to my kids).  We got to spend a little time with her back in September.  I'm glad we captured this picture.  She was a wonderful lady and is now reunited with her hubby!

The kids sure enjoyed this visit :)  Caiden fell in love with the 4-wheeler.  And I mean truly IN.LOVE.  We could not get him off it.  And Paige enjoyed riding it for about 5 minutes, up until she ran over her own foot. Yeah, you read that right.  From then on, she had the help of Casey or Papa riding behind. And Mr. Preston found himself a tractor, and like his big brother, he fell in love too.

Playing a little catch up: Preston Edition

Time for a little catch up....  Let's start with this stud muffin, shall we?

So I came across these pictures and forgot how much fun Preston had this past summer at the pool.  First off, no I don't know where he gets his beautiful golden brown tan.  Yes, he really did come from me and Casey.  Now that that's cleared up...

He particularly loved the sprinklers - namely drinking it and putting his head in it.  The pool, not so much.  Maybe next summer. 

And also watching the wave riders with friend Bryce.  I love his gorilla stance, ha!

And this was a while back too... I was in the kitchen one day and heard some crackling sounds, followed by some chompy-chomp sounds and then heavy breathing.  I know what that is!

Little monkey climbed up, got the Cap'N Crunch (great choice by the way) and went to town.  I opened the pantry door and he had an innocent "May I help you?" look. 

He really gets away with everything.

Family Pictures!

Fall Family Pictures!  Thanks to my sweet friend Michele for taking these!  There's so many I love, just had to post them all :)

Seattle Trip!

Back in August we took a little family vacay to Seattle - just us - and had SO much fun!  First stop was the Aquarium....

 The kids were slightly disappointed that there were no sharks (so was I), but they had fun anyhow.  Even convinced Caiden and Paige to touch the starfish.  Harder task than you might think.

The next day we went to the Pacific Science Center and this was a huge hit.  The kids definitely want to come back here and I highly recommend it.  There's so much hands-on entertainment for all ages.  I quite enjoyed it myself :)

And who knew a simple ramp could provide so much entertainment?  Forget the toys and experiments to play with, how bout a wheel chair ramp?!  Preston laughed and giggled himself silly.  I could really use one of these in the house.  He's such a cute monster.

 

Then for our last day there, we were headed to the Zoo - the main attraction :)  Have to save the best for last, you know.  How excited was Paige to see a zebra? VERY.  And Caiden, the bears - yes, please. . 

Unfortunately, for Preston this marked the third day of really no napping, and it showed.  Lots of stares from strangers - almost like he was his own exhibit, ha.  But once he crashed in the stroller for a bit, he was all smiles.  Like I said, a monster, but a cute one.  Just look at that face

 And I thought it was so funny that of all the animals in the zoo, Caiden was insistent that he see the cranes.  Who actually goes through the bird section?  We did, because "Mom, the crane's my favorite one on Kung Fu Panda".  So here they are with their best impersonations...

And almost as fun as all these events was the swimming pool at our 5 star hotel, not really.  I bid on a hotel through Priceline and we managed a 2 star Holiday Inn, which was actually okay except in was in Renton and that was a bit annoying.  Oh well, that's what you get when you go cheap :) The kids however, couldn't get enough of the pool.

 My other favorite part of the trip was Caiden's comments driving throughout downtown Seattle, aka the "city".  "Dad, don't you love driving in the CITY??" (No.) "Paige, which do you like better - the CITY or the country?"  Really, you'd think we lived in the middle of nowhere and never visit large cities....oh wait, that's slightly true....

School Conferences

Warning: I'm about to do some major bragging about my kids....

Parent/Teacher conferences were today, and it completely made my day.

Caiden:  Straight from his teachers mouth...
..."so, so, so nice!"....."a great listener"..."a great example"..."smiles all day long"..."has never annoyed me in the slightest (haha!)"..."a good friend"..."has a lot of friends"...."I just love him so much!" - and she repeated each thing at least twice.

And that's not including all the comments about how well he is doing academically. 

I feel extra special that he bottles up all of the "not listening" and "annoying behaviors" and saves them for when he gets home :)

Paige:
...."so, so, sweet"...."knows when to be studious"..."always volunteers"...."always listens"...."always outstanding behavior"..."I love talking to her!"  - that one is my favorite, I love talking to her too :)  And it's so good to know that she is coming out of her shell and not as terrifyingly shy as she used to be.  Academically, she is doing AWESOME.

That's it.  Just wanted to document.  I already know they're great, but it's nice when other people see it too. 

Note: Meanwhile, Preston ran around like a freakshow throwing away glue sticks, trying to topple over a stack of chairs, and demanding to play with our keys...loudly. Then topped it off with a tantrum upon leaving and proceeded to hit Casey and yell out for the "th-lide!!!"  Can't wait for his teacher conferences :)

Summer 2012: {Silverwood, Surfing, & Sand Dunes}

To go along with the "S" theme here, everyone is Sleeping again, so here is my very belated Summer recap :)

The kids earned their FREE tickets to Silverwood Theme Park again this year.  (I forgot my camera, but Casey got a few from his phone :)  We love Silverwood, yes we do!  We spent most of our time at the water park this year since we missed out last year.  The kids loved it!  Casey and I loved it!  Then over to the amusement park, where Paige fulfilled her dream of riding the ferris wheel just like Barbie does in her favorite book (don't have a picture of that - darn) but it was very cute seeing her and her dad go round and round.  And I couldn't leave without at least one adrenaline-pumping ride, so the Panic Plunge it was (mostly because it was the shortest line and Caiden and Paige wanted to see me do it - loved it!)

And, of course, lots of time was spent out on the lake.  Mostly the boys and papa getting reeeeeally good at surfing.  The big challenge was a 360 on the surf board, which both Casey and his brother achieved once each after about 300 million tries.  Jason was lucky enough to get his captured on video.

 

My mom and dad and niece also visited this summer.  Caiden, Leah, and PAIGE took a turn on the kneeboard. It was Paige's first time alone on the kneeboard, so a very big moment for her! 

Also played a bit at the sand dunes....I love these pics!!

More of our Summer adventures to come :)

Dear Blog....

It's me.

Kelley.

Just thought I'd inform you on why you are so neglected.  The past month I've been entirely too busy LOSING.MY.MIND.

Why???? 

Well, since you asked...It started about a month ago.  Preston, my very best sleeper EVER (at least 12 hrs a night, 3 hr naps in the day) and who lovingly would say "Ni-Ni" as I'd lay him down and walk out of the room, decided he just wasn't going to do that anymore.

So he quit.

Suddenly, he screamed bloody murder every time we'd try to put him to bed.  He'd throw his blanket out of the crib.  He'd throw his binky out of the crib.  He'd cry until he'd literally lose his voice.  He'd cry until I'd finally cry too.

We did not know what happened to our child!!  No teething.  Not sick.  ......?????.....  Seriously, just decided one day he hated his bed.  No sleep - just cry.  (My theory is a a serious night terror - read about it online).

After a few days of this, I contemplated putting him up for sale.  (I should probably insert a "just kidding" right about here, but I'm not.)

LOOOONG story short, we finally get him to go to bed if we sit in a chair next to the crib playing lullaby's from our phones until he falls asleep.  Annoying, but still better than hearing his terrible, sad yet SHRIEKING cry.

Enter stomach flu.

First, Paige starts throwing up.  Every half hour for SEVEN hours.  Poor thing dry heaved herself to death.
The next day, it hits me.  Same thing.  Two days later, it hits Caiden (in the middle of the night).  And just for fun, he never once got it in the bowl. Next to it, down the side, up and over it, but never IN THE BOWL.

Finally get rid of the stomach flu.

Finally get Preston to not be terrified of his bed. 

Then, guess who starts waking up in the night FREAKING OUT that we are not in the chair next to his bed playing lullaby's like we were when he fell asleep????  Honestly felt like I had a newborn all over again.  Up and up again numerous times in the night trying to get Preston to go BACK to sleep and STAY asleep.  Couldn't let him cry it out because then he'd wake Paige in the next room who needs to go to school.  We're so friggin tired at this point that either Casey or I end up sleeping in the bed in his room.  But not really sleeping as he'd still wake up and not calm down until he heard our voice and knew we were there.  As soon as he heard us he'd lay right down and go to sleep.  This went on for days until we contemplated the idea of putting him up for sale again.  (And again, not really joking.)

Meanwhile, Paige starts barfing in the night.  But not like the stomach flu.  Once a night (a few hours after she'd go to bed) she'd barf.  Every.Single.Night.  And the throw up itself was different - not liquidy, just chunks and chunks of food - TMI, sorry.  She's not at all feeling sick.  No stomach ache.  No fever.  Totally fine.  (Other than the nightly barfing, that is).  Did I mention that every time she'd barf and come to get me Preston would wake up? Oh the INSANITY!!!!!  I just wanted to scream EVERYBODY GO TO SLEEP, STAY ASLEEP, AND QUIT BARFING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I call the doctor and they say it sounds like Paige has acid reflux and to elevate her mattress and give her tums.  This helps, but not always.  She would still occasionally barf in the night, followed by Preston waking up. Followed by me walking around like a sleep-deprived zombie who does nothing but wash barfy sheets and blankets all the living long day.

Next up - Caiden.gets.the.stomach.flu.  AGAIN!!  Double the barfy sheets and blankets, triple the sleep deprivation.

Casey and I are dying, literally DYING here people!!!!

Finally Caiden gets better.

Paige only barfs occasionally.

But we've totally created a monster by staying in the room until Preston falls asleep (though, in our defense, it was the ONLY thing that worked - and trust me we tried EVERYTHING!) and now we have to break him of this habit.  But can't really let him cry it out......unlessssssss.....he's in the bedroom on the other side of the house where no one can hear him.  Don't judge me.  If you had my dark under-eye circles, you'd do it too.

So the bedroom switching begins.  Along with a sound machine, all-night long baby lullaby machine, and 2 night-lights.  And lo and behold, the boy is SLEEPING!!!!  And NAPPING!!!

AND, Paige is on medication for her reflux.  No more barfing!!!!

Glory be Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Let's all pray it will last longer than the next two weeks....

There they go...

First day of School

Paige, my big beautiful girl.  Going into first grade this year with Mrs.Guenther as her teacher.  She seems incredibly nice.  Paige was EXCITED this morning.  Twice she got in the car thinking it was time to leave.  Funny.  I think she was most excited about her new clothes, shoes and haircut :)  Not that those things aren't something to get excited about...obviously they are!

And Caiden....sheesh he looks old!  3rd Grade this year with Mrs. Rosenow.  I have very good vibes about this teacher.  Last night at the school back-to-school social, she was literally the only teacher that got cheers from the crowd when introduced by the principal.  Awesome!  I think I saw a little bit more nerves in Caiden this year than usual.  Either that, or he really is just not ready for summer to end.  This kid loves his playtime :)

And so it's just me and Preston, home together all day.  I know he's gonna miss them tons.  I'm gonna have to become a better playmate I guess :)  And when he naps, I have almost 3 hours to myself! (Yeah, he's a great napper).  Just think...I might actually be able to get some stuff done - like blog posts, ha.

I can't wait to hear how their day went!

Summer 2012: Paige Conquers All

I just have to give a shout out to my Paige!  This summer she conquered so many of her fears - one after another.  They might not be fears for most kids, but for Paige (who takes after her mama) they are.

First, she completely taught herself how to ride her bike.  Casey and I tried and tried to help her, but she refused (and by refused I mean lept off her bike screaming and running from our very touch, of course).  She insisted on doing it herself, and one day...she did just that!

Second,...KNEEBOARDING!  What the?!?!  Out of the clear blue sky I tell ya, she just decided she wanted to kneeboard!  We were out on the boat while my parents and niece were visiting and Casey says "Who wants to kneeboard?"  Paige volunteered (first, might I add!).  We all kinda looked at each other...and she got out in the water and off we went.  For a LONG time too. Unbelieveable.

Next,...SWIMMING!  More specifically, head-under-the-water-no-floaty swimming!  I've been trying and trying to convince her to put her head under water for years it feels like.  Then one day at the pool...she just started doing it!  So excited was she!  Plus, while on our Seattle trip, she jumped - JUMPED - in the pool. She's even swimming (again, taught herself - Casey and I were not allowed to touch her) and has agreed, no make that she's EXCITED to take swim lessons this fall.

Love that once she decides to do something, not only does she do it, but insists on figuring it out all by herself :)

We also went to Silverwood this summer and she shocked me by going on big waterslides and even a big ferris wheel.

AND my favorite...guess who's not afraid of the ice maker and automatic flushing toilets anymore???  You guessed it - PAIGE!  I just knew this day would come :)

Such a proud mama :)

Pagosa Springs {4th of July}

We celebrated the 4th of July at my parents place in Pagosa Springs, CO once again.  And as usual lots of fun times and memories...

4th of July Day Parade

I also can't go without mentioning how amazingly talented my dad is.  Their outside deck is unbelievable!  Every stone, rock, brick, slab of wood, grain of sand - basically everything you see here - he and my mom built themselves.  (Except for that adorable baby there - that was my skills - hahaha).   And they've got physical proof of their hard work, consisting of the most serious ankle-tan you've ever seen and a suprisingly large bicep for a Grandma :)  Most impressive :)

It's always fun to watch the boys (and girl - go Maddie!) cruise on their dirt bikes. Not to mention the rides on the Ranger...  

I love the bottom 2 pictures of Paige and Jayton.  They were just chattin' it up :)

And a little river tubing action too...

Fun trips. Fun times.  More to come :)